Dance With Me: Poison and Remedy
by Miranda Crystal-Bearer
Summary: Genma has a Genin team. They're having birthdays and returning favors. !AU FROM TWO YEARS POST-KYUUBI!
1. Prologue: You Got the Bonus!

**A/N:** Hello! This is an **AU**, written with my darling sister, **Samurai101**. She and I have thrown this idea around for a while now. This is a partial backstory to her popular fic, **"Burning Deadfall."**

This can be read (and some of it will make so much more sense) after reading my earlier Naruto story, **"Bitter Ash."**

* * *

**Prologue: You Got the Bonus**

* * *

_March 17_

Shiranui Genma was in a hospital bed one fine March morning. The reason: a mission with a particularly rough tangle with Iwa_-nin_. Genma was alive, and that was what counted. However, his _shinobi_career had been set back by some months due to his injuries. He had gotten his right hip dislocated, the femur fractured, and his knee badly strained. His ribs on that side were quite tender, cracked and bruised. Genma was bemoaning his fate to the I.V pole when a visitor arrived.

"Good to see you're up to complaining," the Hokage announced as he walked in.

"Er, Hokage_-sama_. Um..._konnichiwa_." Genma blinked. He was quite drugged and a little slow on the uptake.

The Sandaime smiled. "I understand you are to be released this week, yes? While normally you would be allowed a recovery period, I'm afraid we're too short on Jounin to allow that. I have to assign you another mission, starting in a week's time. Don't worry. I have taken your injuries into account. Here is your debriefing folder. If you accept, report to the mission desks next Thursday, at two." The Hokage smiled a bit more widely at Genma's bewilderment. "Good day."

Genma stared after the Hokage, unable to muster even a "goodbye." Then he stared at the folder set on his good toes like the paper might suddenly bite him. After several moments that proved the folder's relative harmlessness, Genma carefully sat up and retrieved it. He read through the papers contained therein twice, stared at the empty doorway the Hokage had left by, and the read the papers again.

His rather loud, disbelieving shout of "WHAT THE HECK?!" brought the attending nurses running.

* * *

**A/N:** The plot begins! What was in that folder?

This will be a very long adventure, so please be patient. I have, at this point, not finished this story, thus breaking my long-held policy of never posting a story I haven't finished. Laughs Please forgive me!

Also, I chose to italicize the Japanese words and phrases in this story, because I am American and Japanese is a foreign language to me. If you see any errors in my fangirl use, please feel free to correct me! I ask for criticism in general as well. Please. I need it to improve. Thank you!

Updates on Fridays or Thursdays, every week when I can manage. The first chapter will go up on Friday, tomorrow.

**Iwa-nin** Rock ninja

**-sama** An honorific indicating respect

**Konnichiwa** Good morning or good day, a general greeting.


	2. Ch 1: Collateral

**A/N: **Chapter one! We find out what was in that folder.

The story's title is taken from the lyrics of "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" by Jason Mraz. I own neither the song nor any of the characters from Naruto.

I do own Sashimoto Ayame, however. She is my OC. As is Hiko_-sensei_, who is very much based off "Seijuro Hiko" from "Rurouni Kenshin."

**Once more, this is AU!**

* * *

**Chapter One: Collateral**

* * *

_March 27_

Genma reported to the missions desk a week later, precisely at two-o'-clock sharp on Thursday afternoon. It was quite a feat, considering he was on crutches. He was not used to crutches. Slings, stitches, braces...but not crutches. It made him somewhat exasperated, and not a little annoyed. He had discovered it was quite impossible to carry much of anything while crutch-encumbered, and was very annoyed by that. So he was doubly encumbered by the small back-pack slung over his shoulder. The backpack contained the folder he had been given a week ago, as well as a few drugs and a bottle of water.

The Hokage smiled up at Genma serenely. "Ah. You accepted. Wonderful."

"Wait just one minute. You're putting me--ME! As the teacher of Genin team?" Genma demanded. "I only just made Tokubetsu Jounin a year ago. Why me?"

Steepling his fingers, the Hokage sighed--mostly for the benefit of those watching the showdown between the _shinobi_ on crutches and the Sandaime. "There are very few _shinobi_ left in Konoha. You know that. We're still cleaning up the village from what happened two years ago. If I allowed it, the Council would rush all the students currently in the Academy to graduate."

"That's suicide," Genma blurted, appalled at the idea.

"I realize that. Which is why it's not happening. Instead, I am dividing what little strength I have very carefully. Most of the injured Jounin and Tokubetsu Jounin, such as yourself, are being assigned to mentor Genin teams while they recover. Normally, we do this based on experience and personality. But we just don't have that luxury." The Hokage sighed again. "Are my reasons valid?"

Genma blinked, then nodded. "_Hai_. _Wakatta_." He bit his lip. "_Sumanisen_, Hokage_-sama_."

"_Daijoubu_. Now, you might want to get to the Academy. You'll be meeting your Genin team there at three, I believe." Genma whipped his head around to see the clock on the wall. He had thirty minutes--but the Academy was halfway across town. A _ninja_ on crutches was **not** a fast _ninja_. Muttering a muted curse, Genma hobbled out as fast as he could get.

* * *

Genma managed to arrive with five minutes to spare. He met a group coming out--a Jounin by the name of Miroku, who had broken both his arms just last week and had both casts in slings. The three kids trailing behind him looked bewildered and quite young. Genma and Miroku nodded to each other as they passed.

It was cool inside the building. Genma crutched along the halls. He was nearly run down by a figure turning the first corner.

"Whoa! Oh, I'm sorry!" With a flashing step sideways, the young man avoided the impending accident. "Oh, you're a Jounin? You're heading towards class AEC-8, next hall down. Hiko_-sensei_ is standing outside the door. You can't miss him." The young man smiled brightly, and took off again.

Genma shook his head. He replaced the three _senbon_ back up his sleeve, and set off again. He had very nearly poked the bustling young man full of holes. Genma disliked being startled. Especially when he knew he was in no condition to fight. Genma frowned, and made his way to the correct hall.

"Hiko_-sensei_" was indeed hard to miss. Hiko was a man that towered above Genma's five-foot-eleven-inches, with a muscled frame that was quite impressive. Hiko looked Genma over with a critical eye. "And you are?"

"Shiranui." Genma hobbled closer. "Team...Thirteen, I think?"

Hiko nodded. "And good luck. You'll need it." He opened the door and poked his head in. "Gekkou! Sashimoto! Umino!"

Genma winced. The bellow was impressive in volume. It nearly hid the eager running of three sets of feet. The children filed out, and three pairs of eyes fixed on Genma. Genma stared back. None of the brats stood higher than his elbows. The girl had red hair, and the two boys had brown and black hair.

"Aw, man, they gave us a broken Jounin!" the little brown-haired boy complained.

"_Oi_," Genma snapped.

"Umino! Behave," Hiko growled.

The boy winced, then grinned. It made the scar across his face crinkle up. Genma did not like that grin. It was unrepentant and promised mischief. The black-haired boy leaned away from his companion, obviously expecting some trouble. The girl actually stepped aside. With a wicked cackle of laughter, the brown-haired boy took off down the hall, nearly knocking Genma off his crutches. Before Genma could recover, a warning cry came from one of the other children before they, too, took off down the hall. Genma discovered why when the stink-bomb went off.

* * *

The three children were sitting under the tree outside when Genma finally limped out of the Academy. The girl was viciously scolding the brown-haired boy. The black-haired boy was watching the doors. As soon as Genma hobbled out, the boy hopped to his feet and trotted over. He stopped in front of Genma and bowed. Genma stared down at the boy's unruly curls.

"_Sumanisen_, _sensei_. Iruka is very rude, but please don't hold that against him." The boy stood upright and smiled shyly. "I'm Gekkou Hayate."

"Call me Genma." Genma frowned over at the girl and Iruka. "That brat needs to learn some manners."

He hobbled over to the other two, trailing Hayate. The girl broke off her scolding and jumped upright. "Oh! Sir! _Sumanisen_. I'm Sashimoto Ayame. And that--" she jabbed a finger down expressively, "--is Umino Iruka."

"_Sou da na_." Genma stared at them all for a moment, pulling up his best poker face. "You can call me Genma_-sensei_. And consider yourselves lucky I don't fail you on the spot. Pranking your Jounin mentor will not endear you to them."

"Oh, it wasn't you," Iruka chirped, turning a sunny smile up at Genma. "You were collateral. _Gomen_. I just wanted to get Hiko_-sensei_ one more time. So he'd remember me, of course." Iruka bounced to his feet and swept a generous bow to Genma. "I am Umino Iruka, prankster and _ninja_ extraordinaire, at your service, Genma_-sensei_."

Genma blinked, and fought against the urge to smile. Iruka was not what he seemed at first blush. Well, neither was Genma himself, he thought wryly. He looked down at the three Genin. Despite Iruka's flourish and apparent confidence, all three were looking at him a little nervously. He supposed they would be. He had read the files on them, but he knew files--no matter how detailed--were no substitute for the real person. He looked around. The tree seemed lonesome enough for a first meeting place. Genma hobbled over to the dangling swing, and carefully got off his accursed crutches. Once down, with his injured leg propped out, he looked at the children, who were semi-circled in front of him.

"You know my name. I know yours. But that's it. So...I'll start. I'm Genma, I like tea, I'm good with _senbon_, and I don't like spinach." Genma reached into a pocket and worked one of his poisoned _senbon_ loose of its case. He promptly stuck it in his mouth, rolling the metal between his teeth. "And I'm on crutches. Your turn, little lady."

The girl blinked, and blushed. "I'm Ayame. Um, I like sweets. I'm good at remembering things. Um...I don't know what I don't like. Maybe boys who are rude." She jabbed Iruka in the ribs. Iruka feigned mortal injury and fell to the ground. She ignored him.

Genma noted that she had bright green eyes to go with her auburn hair. She was also dressed fairly conservatively--sandals, leggings, short skirt, T-shirt--in complementing shades of leafy green. She had the usual weapons pouch at her right hip, and a _shuriken_ holster on her right thigh. Her _hitai-ate_ was just barely holding her short, curly red hair away from her face.

"Very good. Next, prankster."

Iruka jumped to his feet, waving his hands in protest. "I told you, I'm Iruka! And I'm a good _ninja_! I like pranking people and I don't like serious people. And I'm a super-good _ninja_ already, only I can't use any of my super-good_ jutsu_ 'cause the Hokage says not to." Iruka sat back down on the grass.

Genma blinked. The papers had not mentioned restrictions on Iruka, and certainly none the level of the Hokage's influence. Iruka was brown-skinned, not tanned, and the distinct, high-cheek-boned cast of his face was not similar to Konoha's general trend of facial features. Iruka's eyes glinted dark, dark, dark blue in the sunlight, but the colour was not what made Genma give him a stern stare. It was the look that suddenly matched his grin, a glint of something predatory, bloody and not quite sane. Genma knew ANBU with that look. He had never seen it on a child. Then it was gone: just a flicker, and it was back to a mischievous smile.

Iruka's eyes were blue, he had a wicked scar from cheek to cheek, his nose was a little dented under the scar, and he had a ready smile. His shorts and T-shirt were scruffy, but he was an orphan living on his own. He had a _shuriken_ holster strapped to his right thigh, and a weapons pouch on either hip. His brown hair was pulled sharply back into a bristly ponytail, and his _hitai-ate_ was tied properly across his forehead.

Genma gave him one last look before turning to the quiet little Hayate. "And you."

"I'm Hayate. I like bees. I know _kenjutsu_. And I don't like wasps." Hayate smiled a very little smile.

"_Kenjutsu_, eh? You'll have to show me." Genma looked the boy over. Hayate wore sandals, jeans with the knees going out, and a black T-shirt. The boy's eyes were a dark brown, and his hair was black. It curled around his _hitai-ate_ and into his face. He wore no weapons pouch on his hip, but he did have a _shuriken_ holster on his left thigh. Hayate was rather unremarkable, polite and quiet. Genma would have to keep an eye on him. It was always the quiet ones that did you in.

"Well, now I know about you." Genma grinned around his _senbon_. The poison on it tasted faintly of cinnamon-spice and blood mingled. "Meet me tomorrow at training ground three, at ten o' clock sharp. I'll test your abilities, so bring plenty of _kunai_. Dismissed."

Hayate and Ayame bowed to him as they said their farewells. They left quietly. Iruka just stood there, frowning. Genma frowned back. They stared for several minutes. Iruka broke the stare first, grinning mischievously.

"Come on. You can come with me. I've got to ask some questions about you, and my dad always said it was rude to talk about people when they weren't there." Iruka nodded. "Unless they were dead. But you're not. So come on."

"I can come with you?" Genma echoed back. "Brat, you need to learn some manners."

"Well, I figure they'll let you in if you're with me," Iruka chirped. "Because most people can't just get in to see the Hokage."

"_Nani_? They let you in to see the Hokage?"

"Why not?" Iruka asked, as though puzzled. "Hurry up, broken Jounin."

And with that, Iruka turned and marched off, folding his hands behind his head.

* * *

Genma followed Iruka up the stairs to the Hokage's tower office with growing amazement. Iruka passed each level of security with no more than a casual wave to the guards. A few greetings were tossed back and forth. It was obvious that Iruka was a well-known visitor here. He was only stopped by the two ANBU standing guard at the Hokage's very door.

"Umino Iruka, here to see Sandaime_-sama_," Iruka chirped. "Is he in? Or is he at a meeting?"

One of the ANBU tilted his head to the side. "He's in, Umino-_kun_. But who's that with you?"

"He's Genma_-sensei_. We're here to talk about my restrictions and special training." Iruka smiled.

The ANBU nodded, and opened the door to let them in.

Bewildered, Genma hobbled after the little brown-haired brat, who was waltzing into the Hokage's office like he owned it. "Sandaime_-sama_! You gave us a broken Jounin!" Iruka declared. "Oh, good afternoon, too."

The Hokage set down his papers and smiled fondly at Iruka. "Ah. Good afternoon, Iruka, Genma. You have a complaint, Iruka?"

"You gave us a broken Jounin. Why?"

"He's upright and functional," the Hokage said, mildly. "Team Eight's Jounin is still in traction for another week. Be glad Genma's walking, not concussed, and perfectly capable of keeping an eye on you, little rascal."

"Oh." Iruka turned to stare at Genma, then back to the Hokage. "So, we better treat him nice so he don't break again, huh?"

The Hokage chuckled. "If you do, you won't get another."

With a gusty sigh, Iruka turned back to Genma. "Guess I'm stuck with you. Okay. Um, Sandaime_-sama_, what about my special training?"

"I will inform Genma about your special training. No worries, Iruka." The Hokage nodded to Genma. "Now, do you want to stay for the debriefing, or should you be getting on?"

Iruka hopped from one foot to the other. "Sorry, I've got to go train. Thanks!" And with that, the boy trotted out.

Genma stared after him, and turned back to the Hokage, who smiled. "Please, Genma, have a seat. This might take a while." The Hokage leaned over, rifled through a drawer, and resurfaced at his desk with a thick folder. "Iruka, you see, is quite special."

Genma hobbled over to the chair in front of the Hokage's desk, and awkwardly sat. "So I see. Why?"

"Here." The Hokage withdrew a sheaf of papers from the file and handed it to Genma.

Genma took the papers, and ran a quick eye over them. His mouth dropped open and his _senbon_ clattered into his lap. "What? Kirigakure _ninja_? But we don't allow immigrants! Do we?" He looked up at the Hokage, puzzled and entirely forgetting his _senbon_.

"This was a special case. While turning away able-bodied _ninja_ is standard procedure, they were not stopped at the border. The mother went into labor, and so the Chuunin on patrol let them stay at a guard post. Not being Konoha, however, the travelers caught a mild strain of a common virus, and all three--father, mother and newborn--were bundled off to the hospital in Konoha. The woman put up such a fuss that there was really no other way but to allow them to settle here."

The Hokage relit his pipe, which had gone out during his narrative. He puffed on it. "Iruka is allowed to learn the Kiriga _jutsu_ his parents left to him. However, he is not allowed to use it in battle or in training with his team-mates. Of course, there is the possibility that he may one day desert us for Kirigakure. It is unlikely, but still there. If he ever shows sign of deserting, I must ask you to kill him."

"What?" Genma asked feebly, still scanning through the papers. "You...why...well, I suppose that makes sense, but..."

"It does. While he is only twelve, he has been trained in Konoha. He knows many of our secrets." The Hokage sighed. "That boy is a rare thing, you know. He actively knows two separate styles of fighting and using _ninjutsu_, and he is able to keep them from mixing. If I ever let him do that, he could become a very powerful _shinobi_."

Genma looked up at the Hokage. "Do you think he would desert?"

"Personally, I doubt it." The Hokage puffed on his pipe. "But there remains a chance. And I must ask you to be prepared for that situation should it occur. You were the best choice for this team as a mentor. Especially given your abilities."

Genma swallowed, and tasted again the cinnamon-spice-blood-taste of the poison that lingered in his mouth. He retrieved his _senbon_ from his lap and replaced it between his teeth. "I see." He looked down at the file. "And his parents...?"

"Why don't you ask Iruka? He'll be pleased to tell you."

Genma took in the Hokage's smile and nodded. "One last question...how is he able to just come up here?"

That smile widened, softened, and the Hokage chuckled. "Suffice it to say that I keep an eye on him. He needs it."

"I understand." Genma smiled a little himself. "Thank you, sir. May I...?"

"Certainly." The Hokage handed over the file, saying as he did, "Please keep this carefully. I don't need to tell you this is delicate information."

Genma nodded and wondered what clearance was needed to see this folder. Probably higher than his level of clearance was usually. Genma shifted around to stash the folder into his tattered back-pack. He also downed a dose of his pills, after looking at the clock set on the corner of the Hokage's desk. He looked up again. The Hokage waved a hand at him, already bent again over the papers on the desk. Genma nodded, gathered himself up, and limped out. He had a lot to think about now.

* * *

**A/N: **The plot thickens. That was a long chapter, sorry.

Genma now has himself a Genin team! I must thank the people at the RPG **Fallen Leaves**, especially Nezu, who RPs a fantastic Shiranui Genma, and very much inspired me to use this little-known character. Thanks!

And please, go read **Samurai101**'s fic **"Burning Deadfall."** It's worth it!

**Tokubetsu Jounin** Special Jounin, a sub-class of the rank, usually a shinobi who has Jounin-level skills in a specific area

**Hai **Yes

**Wakatta **I understand, it's clear

**Sumanisen** I'm sorry, a polite apology

**Daijoubu** It's fine, I'm fine

-**sensei **An honorific meaning teacher or superior

**Sou da na** So? or Is it so?

**Gomen** A common apology

**Nani** What

**-kun** An honorific used most often with boys, **or** from superior to inferior

**Kirigakure **Village Hidden in the Mist (I have shortened this to Kiriga for typing purposes.)


	3. Ch 2: Gonna Rain

**A/N:** Allright, more action and less talk this time! Here we go!

I do not own Naruto, nor any of these characters save Sashimoto Ayame. She's mine.

Title of this chapter inspired by one of the ending songs from the anime "Rurouni Kenshin," "It's Gonna Rain."

**As a reminder, this is AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Two: Gonna Rain**

* * *

_March 28_

Iruka got up when the sunbeam hit him squarely in the face. His bedroom window faced east, and he always got an early awakening. Iruka rolled out of bed and hit the floor on all fours. He yawned, stretched like a cat, and got to his feet. The floor was chilly, but it was still only March. He pattered into the bathroom and began his morning routine.

Iruka had ramen for breakfast. It was an easy breakfast, and it was warm. The tile floor of the kitchen was very chilly, so Iruka sat on the counter and ate. He could have sat at the kitchen table, but the stove was still warm from heating up the water. Iruka sat between the stove and the large glass jar that had a preserved squid in it. Iruka did not mind the squid. There were several jars with preserved creatures around the house, and having grown up with them, Iruka was quite used to them. Iruka's father had collected things in jars.

Iruka chunked the styrofoam cup and the brittle cheap chopsticks into the trash. He snagged an apple from the bowl on the counter and slid down to the floor. He was still wearing his pajama pants, but he had...Iruka checked the clock in the living room as he passed. He still had another hour before he needed to meet his Genin team and their new teacher. Iruka lived not too far away from the training grounds anyway, and it wouldn't take him long to get there.

Iruka got dressed and tidied up his bedroom. He trotted barefoot down the stairs and tidied up the kitchen. With that done, he went out onto the front porch and stared out into the yard. The yard was tiny, and unlike most yards out here was neither dirt nor garden. Iruka's mother had been stubborn, and insisted on having grass in her yard. So there was grass. Iruka hung his feet off the porch and scuffed them in the dewy grass. He waved at one of his neighbors--old widow Yamato--who was sweeping her yard. Iruka turned his face up to the sun and felt the sunlight warm him. His scar had been aching since last night, and the sunlight was stopping the throb in his face. The weather was going to change, probably today, Iruka thought.

Iruka sighed, and rubbed a thumb and forefinger along his scar. It helped the bone-deep ache go away. His scar was seven years old and healed, but it was still very sensitive to pressure changes in the air. Iruka rubbed harder, and traced the slight dents in the bone beneath the skin. He lifted his hand away with another sigh.

"Pressure's dropping fast, and moisture's picking up," he muttered. "Rain and thunder tonight, I'll bet. Maybe earlier if that drop keeps up." He stared up at the yet-cloudless sky. "Heh."

Iruka smiled, and scrambled to his feet. He trotted inside to gather up his _shuriken_ and _kunai_. He had sharpened many of them last night, and as a result they were scattered across the living room floor. Iruka shuttled them together and stashed them in the appropriate holsters and pouches. He put them in place, and trotted out to the front door. He slid his sandals on, and headed out, locking the door behind him.

Iruka was at the training grounds first. He found training ground three, and wandered across it, examining the terrain. It had a small pond in it, and a few scattered trees, but it was mostly level ground. Iruka stared at the pond. He looked around, and gave into the itching temptation that made his toes curl. He walked out across the water.

Water-walking was slightly difficult, as Iruka was much denser than the water. However, the proper fluctuations of _chakra_ kept the surface tension intact under his feet. Iruka could water-walk with the same amount of thought he gave to breathing--he had been manipulating _chakra_ since he had been six. His mother had taught him to water-walk--with or without sandals, dry or soaking wet, carrying burdens or alone. He mother had been quite demanding. Iruka smiled, and ran across the water, skidding across the surface as though it were ice. It was trickier than just walking, but Iruka could do it.

Stepping back on land made him stumble. Solid earth did not move like water. There was no give. Iruka wobbled about five steps before he got used to it again. Then he charged off across the grassy field, turning cart-wheels and hand-springs just because he felt like it. He waited by the gate, but he was feeling too energetic to wait quietly. He was practising his Konoha _taijutsu_ when Genma showed up. Iruka had been aware of his new teacher's approach, but kept going.

"Well, you're either trying to impress me or you're being rude again," Genma told him.

Iruka slid into a stance, and glanced at his teacher. Genma's eyes were surprisingly light-coloured, and they were fixed on him. Iruka swept into a short attack routine, and looked again at his teacher when he paused. "Can't sit still," he answered, shortly.

There came a snort from his teacher.

Iruka kept an eye on the teenager. He seemed a nice enough sort of guy--certainly nicer than Hiko_-sensei_ had ever been. But Iruka had only met Genma yesterday, and Iruka still did not trust the teenager. Therefore, none of the stance and routines Iruka went through left his back facing Genma. He kept a close eye on the teenager, quite aware when Genma sighed and sat on the ground under the tree, setting his crutches aside. Iruka stuttered through a more advanced routine, and hesitated.

"You've got your feet wrong."

The rich tenor was indeed Genma. Iruka whirled to face him. Genma had a _senbon_ between his teeth again, and it waggled as he spoke. "Third strike, turn that left foot out, not in. And fifth stance, you've got your left foot forward instead of your right. Your timing's off, too. Slow it up a little."

"Oh. Thanks." Iruka tried it again, found the routine flowed much more smoothly, and wound up standing not a foot from Genma. To his credit, the older _ninja_ did not react to Iruka's advance, other than to give the boy a lazy-lidded stare. "Hey, that was better."

"Which is why I'm the teacher," Genma drawled, "and you're the student."

Iruka shrugged and dropped into a crouch. He reached out and prodded Genma's unhurt foot. "So how did you get broken?"

Genma gave him a flat look. "Mission troubles. What, are you playing footise with me?"

"No. Could if you wanted, though." Iruka beamed, and leaned back on one palm to free a foot to nudge his teacher's. "Just can't sit still."

Genma smirked a little. Iruka almost withdrew his foot. That was a dangerous smile, and those heavy lids did not quite hide the spark in Genma's pale, honey-coloured eyes. Then the edge dropped away, and Genma looked merely amused. "I suppose you can't. The weather's changing."

"How did you know?" Iruka shifted, and scooted closer. Idly, he started picking grass and shredding it.

"Broken bones. Good barometer," Genma replied.

Iruka looked up. He felt...yes, there was Hayate, quietly walking up, wearing jeans with the knees out and a dark T-shirt. Hayate smiled his little smile and waved. Iruka waved vigorously back, beaming. "Hayate! _Ohayo_! Hey, cool, you brought your sword!"

Hayate reached up almost self-consciously and touched the hilt nestled above his left shoulder. "I'm not at the Academy anymore." He smiled at Iruka, then turned to Genma. "_Ohayo gozaimasu_, Genma_-sensei_."

"_Ohayo_. A _katana_, eh?"

Hayate nodded. He had his _hitai-ate_ tied over his head like a bandanna, covering his unruly curls. "_Hai_."

Iruka cackled, and jumped to his feet. "So cool!"

He bounced over to Hayate and ruffled what curls he could.

Hayate promptly grabbed his wrist, twisted, and locked his elbow. Iruka yelped and reached around with his other hand to dig his fingertips into the nerves in Hayate's wrist. Hayate bared his teeth in a grimace but did not let go. Instead he shifted his feet, pulled on Iruka's trapped arm, and flipped Iruka to the ground.

Iruka snagged Hayate's T-shirt as he went and pulled hard, using the momentum and shift of balance and hands and feet to flip Hayate over him and onto the ground as well. Iruka rolled over his shoulder and bounced back to his feet, but Hayate had rolled as well, and was beyond his reach. Iruka laughed at him. Hayate shook his head and smiled back.

Genma chuckled, and they both turned to look at him.

"Let him warm up, and then you two can spar." Genma nodded to Hayate as he spoke. "I want to see what you can do. Don't go far, though, or I won't be able to watch you."

"Okay." Iruka bounced on his toes. "C'mon, Hayate. You heard the teacher."

"It's not often I get told to fight with you." Hayate interlaced his fingers and stretched, arms out in front of him. "I suppose I had better enjoy this while I can."

"Yeah! You'd better make it worth my time!" Iruka mock-sneered, lacing his tone with playful contempt.

Hayate raised an eyebrow, and continued stretching. Iruka laughed at him. While Hayate stretched and got warmed up, Iruka practised walking on his hands. He was getting better at it, though he doubted he could walk on water on his hands. He was still having a little trouble with the balance. Iruka flipped himself back onto his feet. He watched Hayate finish a stretch and settle into position. Iruka waited until Hayate nodded. Then he pounced.

Iruka liked sparring against Hayate. Hayate was fast, so it was a challenge to stay ahead of him. Iruka spent a few moments just blocking, before he could catch the pace and match it. He flung himself headlong into the fight. It was the only way to get any strikes in. He was a little reckless, leaving openings in his guard, but he just was not as fast as Hayate. However, he was heavier and huskier. Hayate was twig-thin. Iruka was not. Iruka knew if he could actually grab Hayate, he could easily overpower him and pin him. The problem was grabbing Hayate in the first place.

They kept the textbook stances of the Academy style only for the first flurry of blows. Then they used the tiny alterations that adapted the universal schooled moves to their own styles. Hayate rarely used the official dodges, and Iruka disliked the footwork. Iruka had been taught two separate styles of hand-to-hand combat. Though he could--if he concentrated--use each separately, in a fight like this it was easier to base his blocks and footwork on the Kiriga style, though he used the Konoha attack patterns and dodges. It was easier to keep his feet and gain advantages over his opponent.

Iruka blocked Hayate's high kick with an angled fore-arm, letting the force of the attack misdirect and slide away. Iruka lunged forward as Hayate pulled back, striking for Hayate's chest with his other hand. Hayate performed a boneless-looking dodge, and Iruka mentally winced. Not many people could bend at the waist at that angle. Hayate snapped back upright with a punch that grazed Iruka's ear as Iruka kicked back out of range. Iruka slid into a crouch and lunged forward, under Hayate's next strike. Hayate just barely blocked the blow aimed for his abdomen. He snapped his knee up into Iruka's ribs. Iruka grunted, twisted, and cheated. He dropped his curled fingers into the side of Hayate's knee, a nerve strike that made Hayate's leg go out from under him and nearly dropped him. Iruka pressed his advantage.

He grabbed Hayate's upper arm and pulled, ducking low to put his shoulder into Hayate's gut. Hayate grunted, but kicked off with his good leg and flipped over Iruka's shoulder and back, pulling his arm from Iruka's grasp as he went. Iruka twisted around, but he was a fraction too slow and Hayate's left hook caught him square in the chin. Iruka staggered and went down abruptly. He shook his head to clear it, and rubbed his jaw.

Hayate was bouncing on his toes, eyeing Iruka carefully and with a little shame. Iruka stuck his tongue out. "Ouch. Good hit, Hayate."

"Very nice," Genma called. "That's enough."

Iruka scrambled to his feet, and dusted off the seat of his pants. He examined his right wrist--he had misjudged one of Hayate's kicks. It was going to bruise, but only a little. Iruka bounced over to Hayate. "That was fun! I like it when you dodge like that. Makes it a challenge."

"You changed your blocks." Hayate shrugged a little. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Come here, you two." Genma was eying them both.

Iruka skipped over, followed more sedately by Hayate. Iruka knew Hayate would be slow, now, and careful of his breathing. Iruka plopped down to sit in front of Genma, and wiggled his toes at his teacher. "Yes, oh-mighty-teacher?"

Hayate cleared his throat hoarsely. "Iruka, be nice." He sat down beside Iruka.

Iruka grinned and shrugged at him.

Genma shook his head at them both. "Er...Hayate. Were you using _chakra_ when you fought?"

"No," Iruka interjected. "He never does."

The comment earned him a mild glare from Genma. Iruka did not mind. Hayate needed to catch his breath back before he talked too much. Iruka knew that fact well enough that he did not think Hayate would mind Iruka answering for him. Hayate gave him a mildly exasperated look, and elbowed him in the ribs. Iruka took it with a grin.

"Iruka's right. I don't push _chakra_ when I spar." Hayate nodded a little.

"Hmm." Genma rolled the _senbon_ from one corner of his mouth to the other. "Can I see what it looks like when you do? Just a set of _kata_ would do, say, routine seventeen?"

Hayate nodded, and got back to his feet. Iruka twisted around to watch his friend. He knew what was going to happen, and he knew their new teacher was going to be quite surprised. Iruka grinned, and watched as Hayate set his feet, closed his eyes to concentrate, pushed _chakra_ into his legs and feet and...vanished. Iruka grinned widely at Genma's startled oath, and kept his eyes on the way the grass was disturbed. Tracking that, he wound up looking in the correct direction when Hayate re-appeared. He cheered and clapped his hands, though he knew Hayate disliked it.

"Impressive as always!"

Hayate glared at him, then ducked his head to cough. Iruka winced. He really disliked Hayate's chronic cough. It was centered deep in the boy's chest. It sounded awful, but that was usually all. It sounded ten times worse in the spring and summer, however, and it was March. Hayate coughed, deep and nastily wet, then turned his head and spat. He straightened up and walked slowly back, breathing carefully.

"If you could just hack up that other lung, you'd be fine," Iruka drawled, leaning back on an arm.

Hayate mimed kicking him in the face. Iruka grinned and pretended to duck. He loved teasing Hayate. Hayate took it so much better than their other classmates had. And Hayate teased back, when he was in the right mood. That was tons of fun.

"What's up with that cough?" Genma asked, sounding strangely alert. Iruka glanced at him--the teenager was leaning forward, watching Hayate carefully. "You sick or something?"

Hayate shook his head. "No, not really. I...It's the trees. The leaves make me cough."

"The trees, eh?" Genma raised both eyebrows, and leaned back against his tree. "Hmm. Well, your _chakra_ control is a little sloppy, but your speed is impressive. Okay, Iruka. Your turn. Same routine, using _chakra_."

Iruka bounced to his feet. As he did, he caught sight of their last team-mate arriving. "Ayame! You're late!" he called, scolding and laughing. "What took you so long?"

Ayame ran into the training grounds and skidded to a halt in front of Genma. She ignored Iruka completely. "_Sumanisen_, Genma_-sensei_! My alarm didn't go off and I overslept!" Her red hair was in curly disarray, but her _hitai-ate_ was tied neatly, and her baby-doll T-shirt was tucked carefully into her jean skort. Her weapon pouches were also neatly in place.

Iruka frowned at her. He disliked being ignored. "More like you slept through it," he jeered.

"I'm not lazy like you, goof-off," Ayame shot back.

Iruka beamed at her. "No? But you kept falling asleep in class."

"You...you!" Ayame fumed. She stamped her feet and glared. Iruka cackled outright. He won.

"You're here, that's what matters," Genma said, a little testily. "Brat, what did I tell you to do?"

"Routine seventeen, with _chakra_!" Iruka repeated.

"Then why aren't you doing it?" That was definitely a growl. Iruka grinned his best, cockiest grin, and trotted off to do as he was told. Apparently even his new teacher had a temper. Iruka determined to find out exactly how to provoke that temper. It was always good information to know, after all.

"Because I'm being contrary!" he shot over his shoulder, before he began the routine.

Iruka set his feet, and shut his eyes. He did not, like Hayate, "push" _chakra_. He instead coaxed the flow to be thicker, faster where he wanted it. It made his legs and feet tingle and feel crawly. Iruka launched through the attack routine. The world blurred as he flowed through the attacks, the _chakra_ giving him a boost of speed and power. It was a carefully regulated boost, however. Iruka only used enough _chakra_ to alter his speed noticeably.

Iruka finished, and turned to grin at his teacher. He noticed Ayame was doing stretches and warming up. Iruka trotted over to sit by Hayate again.

Genma was wiggling the _senbon_ up and down. Iruka betted that much metal contact was bad for the teenager's teeth. "Your _chakra_ control is excellent, brat. You didn't learn those techniques in the Academy, now did you?"

"No. My mother taught me." Iruka beamed. And so she had. He had never learned any techniques for _chakra_ at the Academy. It had driven the instructors insane, but Iruka was quite stubborn. That, and it made so much more sense to work with the natural flow of his _chakra_, rather than force it along. Iruka was sensible...in his own unique ways.

Genma had a very interesting expression on, under those heavy lids and languid lips. Iruka could not quite decipher that look. "I see. Well, since Ayame's warmed up, and you seem to have so much energy, you go spar with her. Remember, stay close."

Iruka laughed and whirled to do so, even though the throb in his skull spiked painfully.

It was going to rain today.

* * *

**A/N: **Yay, fights! Up next: the rain comes and Iruka visits Hayate.

Please go read **Samurai101**'s **Burning Deadfall**, it's so much better than this!

A big thank you for my reviwers: **Bobboky**, **Esoteric Memories**, **Ice Dragon3**, **umino-gaara**, and of course **Samurai101**!

Also, who-ever put my story in a C2, could you please step forward? I don't mind, but I would liked to be asked first and would love to know who you are. Drop a review, PM, or Email to me. Thanks!

**Ohayo gozaimasu **Good Morning (Hayate used the very polite form, while Iruka and Genma used the more casual version, just **ohayo**)


	4. Ch 3: Night Terrors

**A/N:** Less action, more talking now. Rain, and visiting Hayate, and nightmares.

I do not own Naruto or any of its chracters. I **do** own Ichigono Hachiko, Hayate's fictional aunt. Oh, and the cat, Chuu!

**This is an AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Night Terrors**

* * *

_March 28-29_

Hayate sat quietly on the back porch and worked on cleaning his _katana_. The rain fell in heavy sheets not a foot away from him. Hayate ignored the rain and the chill and the distant rumbling thunder. He did not mind it, though he was aware that he honestly should not be handling his sword in the damp. Still, he wanted to be out in the fresh spring rain. It was chilly, but not too cold. The rain was making the pollen lay, and he felt like he could breathe without the risk of hacking up a lung.

He had been around Iruka too long if he was exaggerating like that.

Hayate shook his head, chuckled, finished oiling the blade, and set about reassembling his _katana_.

Just as he sheathed it, his aunt opened the_ shouji_ at his back.

"Hayate, there you are. Iruka's here."

Hayate twisted around to smile at his aunt. "Can you send him out here, Hachiko-_'basan_?"

"I'm already here! _Arigatou_, _Obasan_," Iruka chirped, tugging the _shouji_ wider and stepping through.

Ichigono Hachiko laughed at them both. "Supper will be done in an hour." She turned away and shut the _shouji _behind her.

"Oooh, _katana_," Iruka cooed, grinning at the iron sheath across Hayate's lap. "Clean and shiny?"

"_Hai_," Hayate laughed, as he put his cleaning supplies back into their box. "Here, you can carry her. I've got to get her out of the damp."

"Ai, you're such a romantic. Must be a _samurai_ thing," Iruka teased. His hands were careful, however, and he held the sword like Hayate had showed him. "In love with Aotsuki, for shame. Ayame will be so disappointed with you, loving a sword over her."

"Ayame does not like me." Hayate suppressed a shudder, and that made him cough. In the spring, his cough turned nastily wet and productive, due to all the pollen and new leaves. Hayate hacked, turned his head and spat the glob of mucus out into the yard. "And don't make fun of my _katana_."

"Eeew, next time warn me." Iruka made faces. "You sound awful."

"So would you if you were allergic to trees," Hayate replied, with a tiny sigh.

They pattered inside, and made a beeline for Hayate's room. It was small, and a bit cramped, but they did not mind. Iruka reverently set the _katana_ down on the stand in the corner. Hayate shuffled over to the dresser and put the cleaning kit away. By the time he had done, Iruka was sprawled out on the _tatami_, taking up nearly half the floor space. "Nyah, it's raaaaining," he complained.

"So it is." Hayate sat down cross-legged beside Iruka's head. "Your scar hurt?"

"Not as much. Pressure's stabilized." Still, Iruka reached up and rubbed at his face.

Hayate had never been treated to the story of the scar, but he knew it caused Iruka aches and pains, especially when the weather changed. Hayate leaned over and set his warm palm across Iruka's cheek. Hayate always had warm hands. Iruka sighed and shut his eyes.

"You're warm. That's nice."

Hayate chuckled a little. The scar was probably aching more than Iruka would admit. "Want me to get a heat pack for you?"

Iruka cracked open one ultramarine eye. "Nah. I'll just...use you!" He rolled up off the floor and tackled Hayate over.

Hayate gasped, nearly coughed, and immediately reached for his best defense: Iruka was terribly, terribly ticklish. Within moments Iruka was writhing on the floor as Hayate almost idly ran his fingers up and down Iruka's ribs. Iruka was laughing far too hard to retaliate. "You were saying?"

"I...I...I g-give! Haya-aaaaaa!"

"Oh, fine." Hayate sat back and grinned.

"You...are...evil..." Iruka panted, slumped in a boneless heap. "Evil."

"Am not." Hayate turned on the floor and leaned his back against Iruka's knees. He stared up at the ceiling. "So...what did you think about Genma_-sensei_?"

Iruka shifted, adjusting the angle of his knees. "He's...interesting. Don't know if I like him yet."

"He'll be a good teacher, I think." Hayate leaned his head to one side. "He was very attentive."

"Even though he looked half-asleep," Iruka agreed. He reached up and twined a hand in Hayate's hair, twisting one dark curl around and around a finger. "Wonder what's up with the whole _senbon_-in-the-mouth thing? Looks like a good way to get your cheek stuck."

"Stop that. You'll put us both to sleep." Despite his protest, Hayate made no move to dislodge Iruka's hand. He liked it when people played in his hair, though he only ever let Iruka or Hachiko do it. "I don't know. Did you ask the Hokage why he was hurt?"

"Yup. He said that we had better treat him nice or he'd break again and we wouldn't get another Jounin. So no, he didn't really answer." Iruka shrugged. "I think it's cause there aren't enough older _ninja_, y'know? Like what Hiko_-sensei_ said in the History and Social Science classes."

"Hmm. Makes sense." Hayate sighed, keeping it small to not irritate his throat, and leaned his head against Iruka's hand. Iruka had very slender hands, brown and strong. Some of the older kids at the Academy had called them _kunoichi_ hands. Iruka had usually stuck his tongue out and replied that they were healer's hands. Thinking about that recalled an important question to Hayate's sleepy mind. "Hey. What did they say about your special training?"

"Eh? Oh. The Hokage said I could keep doing it." Iruka was grinning. Hayate could tell by the tone of his voice. "I'm working on this really cool medical _jutsu_ right now. It's awful tricky, but I think I could probably use it to heal and attack if I can get it right. I think."

"You think."

"Reassuring, huh?" Iruka laughed. His fingers tightened and he tugged on Hayate's curls. "C'mon, sleepy-head, I'm hungry. Let's go see if your aunt's done cooking."

"Ouch. Don't pull." Hayate scowled and pushed away from Iruka. "Fine. And if she's not, we can break out the chips."

"Saaaalt." Iruka got a dreamy look, and laughed. "Allright! Let's go!" He scrambled to his feet.

Hayate snagged Iruka's wrist and used the other boy to haul himself upright. Iruka stood completely steady. Hayate knew that if Iruka had tried the same trick on him, they both would have fallen. Sometimes it was not fair, being small for twelve.

Into the kitchen they went. Hachiko was still cooking, stirring a dish of stir-fry. She half turned at Iruka's cheer and smiled as she went back to her cooking. She knew Iruka adored stir-fry. Hayate liked it the way she made it, with her special honey recipe. Hayate pattered up behind her and hugged her around the waist, letting his cheek rest on her grey-streaked braid. She spared a hand to reach around and hug him briefly.

"You boys are hungry, I can tell. Supper's almost ready. Iruka, put those chips back."

Iruka groaned but put the chips back in the cabinet. "How'd you know,_ Obasan_?"

"I know boys. Hayate, stop clinging and set the table," Hachiko ordered, not unkindly.

Hayate pulled away and turned to the cabinets. Iruka was already there, stacking plates and dishes. Hayate shook his head and went to help. Iruka tended to drop things if left without supervision. Sure enough, Hayate was just in time to save a pair of glasses from a fall.

"_Baka_! So impatient," Hayate scolded, half-laughing.

"Hey, I'm hungry, and so are you." Iruka stuck his tongue out, and laughed.

Hayate did not deny it, merely shook his head and helped Iruka carry things out to set the table.

The meal was mostly quiet. Halfway through, Hachiko had one of her little lapses, and started a conversation with her husband Kisuke, dead some four years past. Iruka exchanged a bewildered look with Hayate. Hayate was quite used to his aunt by now, and just shook his head, even when she set out a bowl of rice for his deceased uncle. Iruka stared for a bit, but stayed silent like Hayate. After the meal had finished, Hachiko wandered out to the back porch, still carrying on a one-sided conversation with her deceased husband. A damp, tortoiseshell cat came in as she did. The cat saw Iruka, hissed, and scooted under the table. Hayate and Iruka began cleaning up, Iruka edging nervously around the table. The cat kept trying to claw his ankles.

"What was that about?" Iruka asked, nodding after Hachiko.

"Hmm? Oh, that the first time you've seen her do it, huh?" Hayate paused in gathering up the used plates from the table. "She'll be fine. It never lasts long."

Iruka stared after her, then started off towards the kitchen with his load of things. "So, she's talking to your uncle, yeah? Does his spirit visit often?"

Hayate's answer was delayed as he pondered Iruka's phrasing. He supposed his uncle's spirit could be visiting his aunt, but he had always assumed it was a mind-malady that went along with Hachiko's staring fits. "Um, not really. She'll be fine in a little bit."

"Should we burn incense at your shrine?" Iruka asked as he started washing the dirty dishes. He jerked his head in the direction of the main living room, and though his tone was curious he looked a little upset at the idea.

Hayate understood. He did not like incense either. "No, I don't think so." He stepped up to help. "I'll wash, you dry."

"Okay." Iruka grinned. "Don't look."

"Not looking, not looking." Hayate examined the herbs in the kitchen window.

He still heard Iruka making signs, and muttering under his breath. Iruka liked using the minor_ jutsu_ to dry the dishes, and Hayate had to admit it was faster and more fun. "Done. Start your washing." Iruka waved his hands, and several small droplets of water rose from the sink. Iruka directed them back down, grinning so wide his scar was crinkling up.

Hayate washed, scrubbing dishes and chopsticks and glasses. He handed them to Iruka. Iruka dried, drawing the water off the clean items and dropping the sphere of water back into the rinsewater. By looking in the reflection of the rinsewater, Hayate could see the rippling outline of the _chakra_ around Iruka's hands. Iruka knew many _ninjutsu_, even though most of their classmates knew little of _ninjutsu_. Despite this, Iruka had not been a good Academy student.

Iruka swung from foot to foot as they worked, warbling a funny song. He could never sit still. The song seemed to be about crows and blood and death on the waves of the sea. Iruka sang it very cheerfully, despite the morbid lyrics.

They finished up the dishes, and trekked off to Hayate's room. There, they broke out Iruka's deck of cards and played several rounds of Slap. Hayate won most of them, just because he had a faster reaction time. Iruka protested, and they changed to Spit, which relied more on luck than speed. Iruka was winning--and being quite loud about it--when Hachiko stuck her head into Hayate's room and told them to get their baths and go to bed.

Hayate bathed first. He set out the _futon_ while Iruka bathed. By the time Iruka returned--Iruka took long baths--Hayate was already under the covers with the lamp ready to be turned off and the cat kicked out. Chuu, the cat, occasionally slept with Hayate, but since the cat despised Iruka, tonight the cat could sleep elsewhere.

Hayate stuck his fingers out from under the blankets and waggled them in sleepy greeting as Iruka shut the _shouji_ behind him. Iruka chuckled at him, turned the lamp off, and burrowed beneath the covers. Hayate yipped and kicked. Iruka's feet were like ice! Iruka laughed and tickled him. Hayate yipped again and twisted around to tickle Iruka back. They wrestled for several minutes, hushing laughter and gasps so Hachiko would not hear them.

"Truce!" Iruka gasped.

"Truce," Hayate hissed.

At least Iruka's toes were warm now. The two wiggled around only a little more, leaning back-to-back. Hayate shut his eyes and listened to Iruka breathe. He could feel Iruka's heart against their ribs. And Iruka was very warm. Hayate drowsed slowly, warm and comfortable.

"Ne, Haya_-kun_, do your parents ever visit your aunt like your uncle does?"

Hayate blinked, dragged awake by Iruka's voice. For a moment he could not fathom what Iruka could be talking about. Then he recalled the earlier conversation about visiting spirits. "Wha? Uh-uhn."

"Well, why not?"

"Dunno. Shaddup."

Iruka chuckled a little. "Aren't you curious?"

"No. Shut up, 'Ruka."

"Fine, fine._ Oyasumi._"

" _'Yas'mi_," Hayate managed through a yawn. Iruka said nothing more, and Hayate drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Hayate woke up, abruptly and all at once, when he was elbowed in the ribs. He made an indistinct whine, coughed several times, and realized Iruka was sitting bolt upright, gasping for breath. Hayate rolled onto his back and tugged on Iruka's sleeping-shirt in concern. He tried to say something, but his voice hung and he coughed instead.

Iruka looked at him, swallowed loudly, and laid back down, snuggling close and burying his face in Hayate's shoulder. Hayate winced a little as his arm was trapped beneath Iruka's considerable weight, but did not protest. He reached up and combed his fingers through Iruka's coarse hair, trying to soothe. Iruka's breathing was erratic, and the shoulder of Hayate's_ yukata_ was becoming damp. Hayate leaned his cheek just above Iruka's ear and waited, running his fingers through Iruka's thick damp hair.

He did not say that they were twelve, too old to cry, too old to be frightened by night-terrors. He did not say they were _ninja_, and that _ninja_ did not cry. He did not say that boys did not cry. He did not say it was two years past and gone--because two years was not long enough. He shut his eyes and listened to Iruka cry without a sound. He knew those dreams, knew those night-terrors of stifling heat and acrid smoke and bitter, bitter ash. And he had not been near the front lines. Iruka had. Iruka had been on the front lines that fire-filled night.

Iruka never screamed, never made a sound, but he cried long and hard until Hayate's arm was numb and his _yukata_'s shoulder wet in splotchy patches.

Hayate knew Iruka would not sleep for the rest of the night.

Hayate knew neither would he.

* * *

**A/N:** Allright. The first chapters are really slow, please forgive me. I promise it gets better. Next chapter, Genma tests his Genin team! Action and adventure for all involved!

A great fantastic thanks to all my reviewers: **umino-gaara**, **Ally Plz**,** Ice Dragon3**, and** Esoteric Memories**!

**Obasan** Aunt

**Baka** Idiot, moron

**Oyasumi nasai** Good night, but here Hayate and Iruka use the more casual **oyasumi**

**A note on Hayate's katana:** I have taken the great liberty of naming it **Aotsuki**, which is my best stab at "Blue Moon." Please forgive my fangirl attempts.

**A note on the card games:** "Slap" is also called "Egyptian Rat Race," "Egyptian Rat Srews," and other names. "Spit" is like Solitaire on crack, with two players. Both games rely on speed and quick reflexes.


	5. Ch 4: We're Ninja

**A/N:** Whee! Onwards and upwards! The pace of this story shall pick up from here on out. Please be on the lookout for skipped time! I'll try to note clearly whenever we start bouncing around in time. More on this in the author's note at the bottom!

I still don't own anything here but Sashimoto Ayame, silly as she is, and her family.

**It's an AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Four: We're **_**Ninja**_

* * *

_March 29_

Sashimoto Ayame ran the brush through her curls one last time. She pulled her thick hair back, then tied her _hitai-ate_ tightly to make it all stay. She grabbed her weapons pouch from atop her dresser and charged out into the hall. She was going to be late if she did not hurry. Her grandmother laughed at her as she ran through, her mother threw her a bagged sandwich, and she was out the door and down the street.

Ayame thought about her new team as she ran. She liked Hayate--he was quiet and cute and such a gentle-looking soul. She did not like Iruka--he was loud and rude and annoying. Ayame adored her new teacher--he was amazing and so handsome and had such a smile! She was not really looking forward to meeting Iruka again today...even though she had beaten him all three times they had sparred yesterday, much to their teacher's surprise.

_"Genma-_sensei_,"_ Ayame thought, loving the sound. "_He's gorgeous..."_

Thanks to a breakneck pace through the morning market, Ayame made it to training ground three with ten minutes to spare. She was still the last one there, but at least she wasn't late today. The ground was wet from last night's storm, so both her team-mates and her teacher were standing. Iruka was harassing Hayate, poking him in the shoulder. Ayame scowled. Genma was leaning lazily on his crutches, a _senbon_ in his mouth, watching Iruka's antics with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm here," Ayame called, hating how she sounded so breathless. She smiled when Genma turned her way. He blinked, and smiled a little back. Ayame felt her heart pound.

"Hey, you're not late!" Iruka declared, loudly, pointing.

Ayame stuck her tongue out and went to stand by Hayate, intent on ignoring Iruka.

"Is she allowed to not be late? I mean, she's always late to school, and she was late to training yesterday, and she's never really been on time before! I think she should not be allowed to be late! It must be an enemy spy! Hayate, quick, help me slay this foul spy!"

Ayame barely suppressed a whimper at Iruka's tirade. Today was going to be one of those days, she could see already. She noticed that Genma looked bewildered. Ayame felt bad for him. Their teacher obviously had no idea what Iruka was like...

"Iruka, shut up," Hayate sighed, in his quiet way.

"But honestly, Ayame's always late, and so I think--"

"SHUT UP IRUKA!" Ayame shrieked, already fed up with his inane babbling.

"Oh, that's Ayame," Iruka chattered, rubbing his ear. "Only Ayame can hit those notes."

Hayate had his hands over both his ears, and looked mournful. With his large dark eyes, Hayate was good at looking mournful. Ayame noticed that the blue shadows beneath his eyes looked a little darker today.

"_Gomen_, Hayate," Ayame murmured. Hayate could induce great guilt, just with that one look.

"You should apologize to all of us," Genma declared. "Ouch."

Ayame looked in alarm at her teacher. He was rubbing one ear himself. "Oh, I'm sorry, Genma_-sensei_!"

"You should get used to it, Genma_-sensei_," announced Iruka. "Ayame's loud! And she's always loud, especially when she's annoyed, which is most of the time. And she hits really hard, too! But I don't think she'll hit you, 'cause you're our Jounin mentor and all. And she won't hit Hayate 'cause she likes Hayate, you know, really li--"

"SHUT UP IRUKA!"

Ayame thought, with embarrassed agitation, that today was not shaping up to be a good day at all.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, she was still thinking it. Genma had settled them down and sent them off across the training ground. He had hidden three scrolls, and had ordered his students to find them, as a tracking and hunting exercise. Or so he had said. Iruka had almost immediately charged off with Hayate in tow, who looked quite mournful. Ayame had followed them but far more slowly.

Genma was far too good a _ninja_ to leave an obvious trail, even on crutches. Training ground three was mostly open, level field, but there was a pond and a small cluster of trees. Iruka and Hayate had already vanished into the trees. Ayame, still looking for any trail sign, wandered into them as well. She could see faint traces that something had passed this way--something not Iruka or Hayate, at least--and had to look hard to not lose it. She was looking so hard she spotted the trap almost immediately.

Set across the trail she had been following, it was a simple rope-and-wire trap, immobilizing and annoying but far from dangerous. Ayame avoided it easily, but looked around at the woods to look for more traps. She suddenly stopped thinking about traps or sign.

_"These woods should not be this deep,"_ she realized, looking around. "_They are not this deep."_

"_Genjutsu_," she whispered to herself. It had to be. She looked around.

It looked like she stood in a great forest, one very similar to what lay outside of Konoha's walls. Ayame had never been outside of Konoha proper, but she knew what the forest looked like--thick trees with impossibly huge trunks and branches, rich with foliage. Ayame felt dwarfed by the trees, and wondered why she had not noticed them changing before.

_"Too focused,"_ she thought with shame. And then--_"Where are Hayate and Iruka?"_

She spun around in a quick circle, looking through the giant trees. _"They're probably caught, too. Okay,_ genjutsu, genjutsu, _what do I know about_ genjutsu_? It's_ chakra_-woven, illusion only, but all the senses can be ensnared. Um, um, it can be broken with...something about your own_ chakra..._Oh, think."_

"It can be broken...by, um..." Ayame bounced a little in place, anxiety growing. She could not quite remember. It was on the very narrow edge of memory, tantalizingly out of reach. She felt if she could just reach it would come to her. "...um..._chakra_ something..._chakra_-suppression! Oh, but we only covered the theory...there was something else though..."

"Theory was good," hissed a voice behind her.

With a shriek, Ayame whirled. Her heart thudded up into her mouth and she felt electrified at the spike of adrenaline. The black-clad, black-masked figure tilted its head. Its eyes were hollow sockets of darkness. Ayame wanted to scream again, but she did not have the breath. The figure slid out of the tree and advanced on her. Ayame was shaking, her breath coming hard like sobs, but she could not move. She should, she needed to move get her weapons out get away but she could not move!

"But theory's not enough," the creature hissed, and a handful of kunai appeared in its gloved first with a rasp and chime of steel.

The sound broke Ayame free from her trance. She was leaping backwards, flinging a handful of shuriken automatically.

Four straight years at the Academy put some skills straight down into habit. Throwing sharp pointy objects at threats was one of them.

Another was getting way back out of range from threats. Ayame was not sure what she was going to do if that thing attacked: she only knew so much, she was only a Genin for crying out loud and that creature looked strong and impossible and so big. Her adrenaline spiked to new levels as it lazily batted away her shuriken and scrambled after her, long-limbed and moving jittery like a cockroach.

Ayame blocked the first kick out of sheer terrified reflex, as she did the first punch. The blows made her arms sting and ache. But as she blocked the third strike, she realized that she was not dying, not dead yet, and that she actually could block the attacks. In fact, she realized the horrid creature was using Academy-textbook stances, and that she could recognize the patterns it was attacking her with.

Only it still had that handful of kunai, and she only had her bare hands. Ayame had to think, had to think fast or she was going to get hurt. The idea of getting hurt broke through her blunted thoughts, and she pushed a simple, two-strike offensive attack. The first blow was blocked, but her second fisted strike sank into the creature's midriff, right below its lungs. It huffed and staggered backwards.

Ayame leaped backwards, and smacked into a tree. Her ears rang and her vision flashed, but she fumbled out three kunai and arranged them into her fist. She pushed away from the tree, into the open, and took up a solid guarding stance. She was terrified and her head hurt but she was also getting less afraid. She felt like she might could do this.

When the creature attacked again, it was still using textbook stances. Ayame responded with the ones she had been trained for, and found that they worked. She blocked the creature's kunai with her own with a ring of steel that jarred her arm and wrist, pivoted on her right leg and threw a swift kick into its knee. The creature staggered back, and flung the kunai at her.

With a shriek, Ayame threw her arms up to protect her face.

Nothing hit her.

Ayame lowered her arms and looked around. The creature--and its kunai--were gone. She was standing alone in the middle of the clearing, a handful of kunai in her hand, her head throbbing, her breath coming fast and with bruises coming up on her forearms. Ayame dropped her arms and groaned, reaching up to gingerly pat at her skull. Her fingers brushed the rising knot, and she whimpered. It hurt! Her vision seemed to flash with the spike of pain, and that probably meant she was hurt badly...

_"Wait."_ Ayame blinked as it registered what the brief double vision had really been--a glimpse of a far more thinly-wooded area. _"Oh. Pain can also cancel a_ genjutsu_."_

Feeling quite stupid, Ayame shut her eyes, braced herself and rapped herself on the head. She yelped, and loudly, because it sent a spike of pain through her skull down into her spine. But when she opened her watering eyes again, she was standing in the training field, in the small grove of trees.

Iruka was standing right in front of her. His nose was bleeding. The sight of the blood running over his face sent a pang through Ayame. She felt sick, and wondered if she really was badly hurt. She knew head injuries could be dangerous...

"Oh, good, you came oud of id..." Iruka said, somewhat stuffily.

"_Daijouka_?" Hayate asked softly. He peered around Iruka. Ayame could not see any immediate injuries on him, even though he had his _katana_ drawn in his hand.

"My head," she whimpered, and immediately felt ashamed, even though she hurt. Her knees wobbled.

"Sid down and led me look," Iruka ordered, sounding odd.

Ayame sat, realizing she had a handful of kunai out. It made her gasp, and that almost made her cry. She realized that it had all been an illusion, but it had all been so real and her head hurt and her arms were bruising and she was shaking. She was very close to crying, or being sick. She sniffled as Iruka's slender brown fingers gently combed through her curls.

"Nod bleeding, bud id's a lump," Iruka announced. "Whad you do?"

"I hit a t-tree," Ayame managed. She felt quite sick. The sunlight was catching on the blood in Iruka's face.

"I dripped ober a rock!" Iruka reported, snorting a little laugh. "Landed flad on my face." He sat back on his heels, grinning. "Dink dere's really scroll oud here? Or do you dink Genma-_sensei_ jusd wanded do ged us with genjudsu?"

"I think there is a scroll," Hayate said. He sheathed his _katana _and knelt beside them. "Um, three of them. Iruka, you're bleeding again."

"Oh? Dang id." Iruka grabbed the hem of his shirt and pressed it up onto his nose, which looked swollen. "I'd jusd god id sdopped, doo."

Ayame sniffed. Her nose was running, She swiped it on her sleeve, before she remembered that she was supposed to act lady-like and use a handkerchief. But she really did not care right now, she was tired and her head hurt and she was still shaking. She did not feel quite as sick anymore, though. "So do we l-look for th-the scrolls?" she asked, and hated how her voice was so small.

"I say no," Iruka said, somewhat muffled behind his shirt. "Ayame hid her head. And dad genjudsu drick was dirdy."

"_Eeto_, well, it's not too bad," Hayate replied, with a mournful and slightly anxious look at Ayame. "And _genjutsu_ is fair game. We're _ninja_, Iruka, remember?"

"And we lie, chead, and sdeal, I know," Iruka replied. "I sdill dink id was dirdy. Ready do go, Ayame?"

Ayame took a deep breath. She was fine, she was a little bruised, and her head hurt, but it was better than it had been. And Hayate was right: they were _ninja_. "O-okay." She cleared her throat. "Okay," she repeated, more strongly. "Let's go."

She thought Iruka was smiling behind his uplifted shirt. She definitely saw Hayate's shy gentle smile appear. Ayame smiled back.

* * *

**A/N:** A little early, because last time I was a little late. Also, Genma would like to say something on behalf of this chapter.

**Genma:** (Raises hand) I would like to say I was _not_ trying to scare Ayame that much. I'm just that bad at _genjutsu_. (Embarrassed) It was SUPPOSED to have eyes.

Thank you Genma! Now! About the time-jumping around I mentioned. Since I'm not patient enough to write about weeks of mundane training and running C- and D-ranked missions, we will start to mention that time has passed. Right now, it's the very **last** week of **March**, and Genma broke his leg the **first** week of** March**, not _quite_ three weeks ago at this point. I will be using this as my main reference point. Thank you.

Next chapter: We eat stir-fry, Iruka brags, and Genma complains.

Thanks to **Ice Dragon3**, who was the only person to review last chapter.

Thank you to all who have put this story on your story alert. I look forward to hearing from you someday.

**Daijouka** Are you okay?


	6. Ch 5: Take Me Out

**A/N:** MANY WONDERFUL THANKS TO **Ice Dragon3**! She jumpstarted my brain and I sorted out dates. So now we have actual dates! I have dated the pervious chapters. I'll slap them down at the bottom, or you can go back and re-read to get them figured out.

Chapter title taken from the song, "Take me Out," by Franz Ferdinand. Fun song. I own neither the song, nor any of the characters from Naruto.

**It's an AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Take Me Out**

* * *

_April 10_

Genma was still on crutches.

He was somewhat annoyed by this fact. It had been two weeks since he had gotten his Genin team, a full three weeks since he had been out of the hospital, and five weeks since he had gotten his leg broken in the first place! The medics however, had ordered him to stay on his crutches for another week, and come back then. They had given him a prescription to refill his pain medications, even though Genma honestly did not need it. His leg only hurt when he ran it into things, but he was good now and hardly ever ran into things. Genma was used to the crutches now.

They were not the real annoyance.

No, it was the fact that he could not run missions with his Genin team until he was off his crutches that was the real rub.

Genma sighed, and glanced down at Iruka. The boy was hop-skipping beside Genma as they walked down the street. Genma had met with both Ayame and Hayate's guardians by now, but since Iruka was an orphan, Genma had decided to take the boy out to eat. He honestly hoped Iruka had good manners, not that it really mattered. The restaurant they were heading for was not fancy. Jiroshin's was something of a half-bar, half-restaurant that was frequented mostly by _ninja_. The food was good, the alcohol decent, and the owner discreet.

Genma had plans to meet a friend here after he sent Iruka home. Namiashi Raidou was supposed to be back in the village, as the border shifts had rotated again. Whether he really was or not, Genma was not quite sure--the _ninja_ rumor network tended to be accurate, but no information source was perfect.

"Well, brat, here we are," Genma announced, as he turned onto Kaede Street. "Jiroshin's. Best stir-fry this side of the village."

"Stir-fry? _Honto ni_?" Iruka beamed. "You're awesome, Genma-_sensei_!"

Genma looked on in amusement as Iruka turned a cartwheel. The kid was incredibly energetic. "I take it stir-fry's fine with you?"

"_Hai, hai_!" Iruka laughed. "I haven't had good stir-fry in a while! _'Kaa-chan_ used to make the best, and I've got the recipes, but I'm not big enough to do it yet." Iruka skipped a few steps, and turned another cartwheel.

"Hmm." Genma had a troubled moment with the door upon entering the restaurant, but then he was good. "Was your mother a good cook?" he asked, just to ask something. The Hokage had said that Iruka would be pleased to talk about his parents...or at least, that was what Genma had understood.

Iruka nodded gleefully. "Oh, she was good, but _'Tou-chan_ was the best. He didn't cook often, though 'cause of his shifts at the hospital. _'Kaa-chan_ was home all the time, so she cooked. And sometimes set things on fire." Iruka waved his hands for emphasis.

Genma snorted in amusement. He looked around. The tables were not full, but it would be awkward for him to sit at one. Instead, he hobbled towards the bar. "I hope you cook better than your mother."

" _'Tou-chan_ taught me, don't worry," Iruka informed him, grinning. "And he was a good teacher! He taught me _chakra_ manipulation, and most of the med--the special _jutsu_ I know." He snapped his hands behind his back, as if hiding them would hide his verbal stumble.

Genma hesitated, and looked at Iruka curiously. He had caught that stammer. Iruka grinned, but it was no innocent expression. It made him look demented. Genma rolled his eyes and sat down at the bar, nodding to Jiroshin, the owner, as he did. "Yeah, pork and _sake_ for me. Dunno what the brat wants."

Iruka scrambled onto the stool. He looked solemnly up at the menu, then at Jiroshin. "Liver, please. And tea."

"You sure you want liver, kid?" Jiroshin asked.

"_Hai_." Iruka kicked his feet and beamed. After Jiroshin had gone, he turned to Genma again. "I'm not allowed to tell you 'bout my _jutsu_. Sandaime-_sama_ said so."

"_Sou ka_?" Genma knew that already. "Well, if you're as good at them as you are at _chakra_ manipulation, then you don't need my help anyway. You said your father taught you about _chakra_?"

"_Aa_, but _'Kaa-chan_ started me out, 'cause _'Tou-chan_ thought six was way too young to start on _chakra_ control. _'Kaa-chan_ teased him about it all the time," Iruka chattered, beaming.

"Six?!" Genma spluttered.

Typical children started working with _chakra_ at the age of ten or eleven. Their _chakra_, at that point, was still relatively undeveloped and hard to control. However, their reserves were not large, and any accidents were likely to be minor and not harmful. Genma gave Iruka a long, measuring look. The boy kicked his feet and smiled back, all big dark eyes in his brown scarred face. He still looked more demented than innocent.

The more Genma learned about Iruka, the more worried he got.

"So...what can you do that you can tell me about?" Genma asked finally.

Iruka hummed and bounced in his seat. "If it involves sticking to things with _chakra_, I can do it. _Genjutsu_, I'm okay with, know how to break 'em. _Taijutsu_...well, you've seen that. Basic Konoha _ninjutsu_...I'm having a little trouble with clones. Again. I thought I'd got it worked out, but when I try to swap with them they vanish." Iruka finished with an aggravated sigh and threw his hands into the air.

He was quite dramatic. He was a better drama queen than Ayame, Genma had noticed. "I'd have to see it to give you pointers," Genma told him. "Can you water-walk? I thought I could start you three on that tomorrow."

"Of course I can water-walk." Iruka gave Genma a look that suggested Genma was simple. "Water-walking's easy. Tree-walking's hard, though."

"Oh? _Naze_?"

"Trees don't move," said Iruka, as though that explained it all.

And perhaps it did...to Iruka. Genma was a little confused. He had no time to pursue the subject, as Jiroshin emerged from the back with their food.

Iruka had impeccable table manners, Genma found. The boy ate his food with great relish, and was not very inclined to talk while he was eating. Genma understood. The food here was excellent. Iruka did have something to say when Genma started on his _sake_, however.

"Aren't you still broken?" Iruka was frowning. "And taking pills? You shouldn't take pills and drink."

Genma snorted at him. "I'm not broken. And I'm not taking pills. I know better than that." Genma grinned, a little grimly. One meeting with the talking purple rabbits had been enough: he knew better than to mix medication and alcohol. Even if the drugs in question were prescribed to him.

"Oh, I thought you were hurting," Iruka commented, eating the very last of his vegetables.

"Eh?"

"Um, since two days ago, I think. You're slower and you frown more, so I figured you must hurt." Iruka finished off the last of his tea, and tucked his hands under the bar, kicking his feet. He grinned a little at Genma. "Or you're just getting grouchier."

"I'll show you grouchy, brat." The kid was dangerously perceptive, though his count was off. Genma had been off the meds for four days, not just two. "If you're finished eating, why don't you run along? I'll be working you hard tomorrow, just for the grouchy thing."

Iruka laughed. "_Hai_, grouchy _sensei_! And I'll show you how awesome a _ninja_ I am!"

Iruka slid off the stool. He wobbled as he landed, and his right hand brushed up against Genma's leg--his broken right leg. Genma started to cringe in reflex, then honestly jumped as a flare of _chakra_ from Iruka crackled over his nerves. Before Genma could do much more than flick his chopsticks to a grip from which he could throw them, Iruka had pulled away and was halfway out of the restaurant. As he reached the door, he tossed that wicked, demented smile over his shoulder at Genma--then he was gone.

Genma snarled quietly, and looked down at his leg. It struck him then--it had stopped hurting. Completely. The distant, throbbing ache that had taken up residence in the still-healing bone was gone, along with the little itching pulls of not-quite-hurt from his mostly-healed knee. Startled, he ran a hand over the leg, and discovered that yes, poking it still hurt. He flipped a few hand-signs out, casting a simple diagnostic _jutsu_, one of the few medical ones he knew. It revealed that Iruka's flare of _chakra_ had indeed been a _jutsu_, a not-quite-simple pain-blocker. Genma recognized it as one used often by field-medics. He stared after Iruka, though the boy was long gone.

_"So that slip earlier likely __was__ medical_ jutsu._ He __did__ say his father worked at the hospital... This is shaping up to be less than simple. I think I need another drink."_

He stared at the door a moment longer, however. Then he caught sight of a very familiar person entering, and Genma grinned despite his worries. He leaned back from the bar and waved both hands expansively. "_Oi_! Raidou! Over here!"

Namiashi Raidou rolled his eyes, but strolled up to the bar. He stopped and looked at the empty plate beside Genma's. "Had company this evening?" he asked in a dry tone. The raised eyebrow and stern mouth might have been scolding, but his dark eyes had humor in them.

"Been and gone. So you got back all in one, piece, huh? How 'bout a drink to celebrate?"

"Can't drink." Raidou shook his head and took his left hand out of his pocket. It was thickly wrapped, and two fingers were splinted. "Broke a few bones, and got some stitches. They dosed me up before they let me go, too." He slid into the bar at Genma's left. "Are you still on crutches?"

"Yeah." Genma sighed, and took a sip of his _sake_. "You'll never guess what happened to me, Raidou."

"It's you, Genma, of course I'll never guess." Raidou placed his order with Jiroshin, and eyed his friend with a faint grin. "There's no telling what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into."

"I," Genma announced, with a little pride that surprised him, "have a Genin team. Beat that, Raidou."

"_Nani_?" Raidou twisted around to give Genma a thorough look. "Who in their right mind would give you a Genin team? You're only Tokubetsu Jounin, anyway. Stop pulling my leg."

"No, no, I tell the truth. The Hokage himself delivered the papers, while I was still in the hospital. It seems they had a big class this year and not enough regular Jounin to take up the load." Genma shrugged a little, and watched Raidou frown. "So I've got a Genin team."

"I feel sorry for the kids," Raidou said at last, with his lop-sided smile. The scars across his face had always twisted up his smiles, but Genma suspected Raidou had always smiled lop-sided. It just seemed to fit him. "So, tell me what you've got."

"Well, I've got one smart _kunoichi_, Ayame's her name, one loud prankster named Iruka, and a quiet little mouse named Hayate." Genma smirked a little. "They're okay kids. I might have to strangle Iruka, though. What a brat! He put a 'kick me' sign on poor Ayame yesterday. Of course, she knew exactly who had done it and beat the stuffings out of him. They fight every single time we meet. I'm getting tired of breaking them up."

Raidou's food had arrived during Genma's rant. He was eating eagerly, but showed he was still listening by asking between bites, "Think there's a crush going on?"

Genma shook his head immediately. "No, nothing but pure annoyance. I like kids, Raidou, you know I do, but Iruka is just...argh. I swear I could just strangle him sometimes. He always wants to be the center of attention. Only Hayate can put up with him for too long." Genma sighed and ran a hand through his bangs. He winced as his fingers hung in the snarls.

Raidou mumbled something around his mouthful.

"_Nan des ka_?"

"What have you done with them?" Raidou repeated, after swallowing.

"Oh. Well, I can't run missions, 'cause I'm on crutches." Genma scowled mightily in annoyance. "So I've been working 'em with _genjutsu_ and clones. On the bright side, I'm getting better at _genjutsu_. And the brats are getting very good at breaking them. Of course, there's only so much you can do with illusions. And I'm about at my limit."

Raidou "hmm"ed a little.

"Clones really aren't too good for sparring, 'cause it only takes one hit to take 'em out, and you know that's nothing like real combat. I mean, sure, first coupla months of missions you run nothing but D's and maybe a C or two, no combat there, but still! It's some experience, some idea of how to gets teams together and running and planning. Even I know that. And they tell me I can't run missions until I'm off my crutches, which I think is a darn stupid restriction. It's been five weeks, my leg holds weight well enough again, I mean, if it was a real emergency--"

Raidou smacked his unhurt hand on the counter, making Genma jump and stop mid-rant. He looked at Raidou in surprise. Raidou looked upset. "You moron. Tell me you have not been walking on your broken leg. And don't you dare lie to me either."

Genma looked away and shifted in his seat, suddenly guilty. He took a drink of _sake_. He was almost done with the little bottle. He pointedly did not look Raidou in the eye. "_Eeto_, not far. Just from the table to the stove. Stuff like that, you know. And only just this week. I'm not a total idiot, Raidou."

"No, just brain-dead! _Baka yarou_!"

Genma yelped when Raidou bopped him over the head. Since he not been looking, he had missed the start of the motion and his chance to dodge.

"You know you could stress your leg so badly it could stop healing up, you moron, you did that with your stupid hand, remember? Healing things need rest, any idiot knows that, you don't have the common sense the gods gave a goose! One of these days you're just going to up and die because you pushed yourself too hard like a moron!" Raidou smacked him again at the end of his tirade.

"_Ittai yo_! _Oi_! You trying to concuss me or what?" Genma demanded, only half-joking, trying to get Raidou to smile.

"I could." Raidou raised his hand again, a stony glint in his brown eyes.

Raidou really was upset, and he could hit pretty hard. Genma winced. "Look, I'm fine, right? And I won't do it again. Promise. I can be good."

"No, you can't. You're trouble incarnate." Raidou sighed and shook his head, scrubbing a hand through his short brown hair. He looked resigned and rueful. "And even if you did promise, you'd forget the second you walk in your door and find your latest poison or antidote or whatever on the boil."

Genma had to laugh, a little uneasily, because Raidou spoke the truth. "Eh-heh-heh. Well, it only takes a little a ruin a brew, you know. And it takes too long to get up on the crutches. _Oi, oi_! I'm sorry, allright? Don't start beating on me again!"

Raidou scowled at him. "I should. If I concuss you, you'd stay off that leg."

"And I'd make sure the Hokage delegated my Genin to you. Or not. I don't think you'd deserve Iruka, even if you did concuss me for no good reason."

"Is he really that bad? He can't be."

"Oh, he is. He even had the gall to play hooky last Tuesday." Actually, Iruka never showed up on Tuesdays. It was an annoying, mysterious pattern that Genma had found no good reason for. "I had to let the other two go early. There really wasn't any point in keeping them."

Genma downed the last of his _sake_. He pondered getting more, but decided against it. There really was not any point in it. Having a fantastic tolerance for poisons meant it took a lot of alcohol to get Genma anywhere near tipsy, let alone drunk.

Besides, Raidou was finished eating, and even with his wounded hand he could still shoot pool. Genma grinned.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks agin to **Ice Dragon3**, for making my brain work. No, I honestly did not think of putting dates at the beginning of each chapter. Bad author!

Anyway, with a helpful suggestion, a little work on Google Calanders, and a lot of headaches, I got the timelines sorted out and laid straight. I will list them here, so you don't have to go skylarking about to find them all. (But if you do I won't complain!)

**Prologue:** May 17  
**Chapter One:** May 28  
**Chapter Two:** May 28  
**Chapter Three:** May28-29  
**Chapter Four:** May 29  
**Chapter Five:** April 10

Next chapter it will be May. O.o How time flies!

UPDATES SHALL NOW OCCUR THURSDAY EVENINGS! Next chapter: We discover why Iruka's been missing Tuesdays. Fights occur!

A great fantastic thanks to all who reviewed last chapter! I appreciate it so much! Thanks to: **Ice Dragon3**, **Ally Plz**, and **Esoteric Memories**!

**Honto ni** Really

**A note on Iruka's parents:** He is using the very childish **'Kaa-chan** and **'Tou-chan**, rather like saying "Mommy" and "Daddy." The more formal and proper forms are: **Okaa-san** and **Otou-san**.

**Naze** Why

**Baka yarou** I'm not sure of the exact literal translation. It's harsher than **baka**, something like "Stupid jerk."

**Ittai yo** Ouch!


	7. Ch 6: Stand By My Side

**A/N:** The mysterious Tuesdays! Beware of the angst.

Chapter title taken from the song "By My Side" by 3 Doors Down. I own neither the song, nor any of the characters from Naruto.

_"I need another like a brother  
For a crying shoulder  
And this could be the last time  
You will stand by my side  
Well I can feel my soul it's bleeding  
Will you fly with me this evening?"  
_"By My Side," **3 Doors Down**

I do own the three morons in here: Hideki, Ogano, and Yurika. I also own Sashimoto Ayame. And the random shopkeeper Okiku.

**It's an AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Six: Stand By My Side**

* * *

_May 20_

"And Genma-_sensei _is allright. I liked him better when he was on crutches, though. He couldn't chase me down then. Though, really, he doesn't often catch me. Aren't you proud, _'Kaa-chan, 'Tou-chan_? He's Tokubetsu Jounin, too. I'm not as fast as Haya-_kun_, but Genma-_sensei_ has been on crutches for eight weeks...so maybe that means he'll speed up. I told you about his leg, but I'm pretty sure his knee was hurt, too. Anyway...oh, hang on, that's Haya-_kun_ coming."

Iruka twisted from where he knelt before the October Memorial. His knees and legs were completely numb, but he did not have to twist far. He tried to muster up a smile, but he just could not. It kept trying to fold up into tears.

Hayate was coming down the path, hands behind his back, worrying his lower lip with his teeth. He looked even more mournful than usual, and a little upset. His gaze kept darting around, never quite focusing on Iruka.

Despite his agitation, he knelt beside Iruka and paid a brief service to the names carved into the stone slab. Then he turned to Iruka. "_Eeto_, _sumanisen_, Iruka. I told Genma-_sensei_ I knew where you were, and he told me to come get you. I'm really, really sorry, but he's really, really mad, and I know I shouldn't interrupt because it's Tuesday but--"

"_Daijoubu_, Hayate." Iruka managed a little smile at last, which made Hayate stop fidgeting. "Just let me say goodbye, and I'll come."

"_Hai_," said Hayate, with relief evident in his tone. He nodded, and went to stand some ways back up the path, giving Iruka his privacy. Hayate was a good friend like that.

"Well, you heard Haya-_kun_. I'll come back later, _'Kaa-san, 'Tou-chan_," Iruka told the stone, softly. He stood, wobbling on legs that had no feeling at all. He half-staggered up the path.

This memorial stone was not the Hero's Stone--it was the October Memorial. This one had the names of all the non-_ninja_ killed in the attack of the _Kyuubi no Kitsune_, two years ago. Iruka's parents had been _ninja_, but not Konoha. They had never served Konoha as _ninja_, merely as a medic and a fish-monger. He felt that they deserved better--a better monument, a better death, a better anything--but there was nothing he could do about it.

Iruka stumbled up against Hayate and leaned on the smaller boy. "_Ittai_. My legs," he moaned

Hayate wobbled under Iruka's weight, but found a balancing point and held it. Iruka had almost ten pounds on him. "You shouldn't kneel so long. It's bad for your feet." Hayate paused to cough. It was the fourth week of May now, well into spring, and he was sounding worse everyday.

Iruka stood on his own feet, which were now tingling painfully. He listened to Hayate cough. "Urgh, you ever going to hack up that lung?"

Hayate gave him a rather dark look. "Probably not," he rasped. "It's pretty firmly attached. Or so I hope."

Iruka smiled a little. He was surprised when the smile--which had been a pretty good one for a Tuesday--made Hayate wince. Iruka wobbled a bit when Hayate hit him in a very sudden and hard hug. Iruka moved quickly and hugged his friend back, smiling to himself. Hayate's solution to Tuesdays were frequent hugs. Iruka appreciated it, he really did. It reminded him that he really was not all alone, even if he felt like it.

"So, are they at the training grounds?" Iruka asked, after a moment.

Hayate made an affirming noise into Iruka's collarbone, then pulled away. "_Aa. _We've got a mission, actually. Okiku-_san_ wants us again to help deliver her goods. I think she likes us, Genma-_sensei_ said that she requested out team especially."

"Because you're so cute and polite," Iruka jabbed, gently. "Allright then. _Itte._"

Hayate nodded, a very tiny smile on his face.

* * *

Iruka could tell both Ayame and Genma were bewildered. Ayame was less than confused. She knew him from the Academy. Tuesdays were not a good day. Genma, however, was quite concerned. He had asked Iruka if the boy was sick. Twice. Iruka brushed it off and said he was not. Hayate backed him up. Iruka sighed as he stood patiently outside Okiku's little shop with Ayame. Genma and Hayate were inside, getting the boxes of goods.

"Oh, look, it's Scar-face!" jeered a voice Iruka knew too well.

Irritation flared to life at the old moniker. Iruka looked up from his sandals. Several of the older Academy students--a year ahead of Iruka--were there on the street. They were still Genin team now, if the bewildered Jounin back-tracking was any indication. Iruka noted that the Jounin looked awful young, like Genma. Iruka paid little attention to him, though. Hideki, Ogano, and Yurika were moving closer. Hideki was grinning. Iruka's fists itched to wipe that grin off.

"Sad today, Scar-face?"

Iruka tried to grin. "Oh, only sad because someone was stupid enough to make you Genin." As insults went, it was a poor one. Iruka knew it, and that annoyed him even more.

"Oh, but who got the lowest grades on the last test?" Yurika jeered. "Huh, I'm surprised they graduated you, dunce."

"Hey, stop that," Ayame said, but she was largely ignored.

"I know why Scar-face is sad today," Ogano said, smirking. "It's 'cause he misses his mommy, yeah? Poor little Scar-face."

"I'm sure you miss your sister, too," Iruka answered, tone cutting. He did not want to deal with this today, but if he had to he was going to make a fight out of it. It was better to fight than cry where everyone could see him, and he was going to do one or the other. His hands were shaking now, his breath speeding up. He was angry.

"You leave my sister out of this," Ogano snapped.

"Oh, but you were the one who brought up dead family members." Iruka bared his teeth in a snarl.

Ogano winced, then lunged. Iruka was ready for it. He blocked the first three strikes with ease and got in a punch that would likely black Ogano's eye. Ogano howled, and Hideki jumped into the fray. From the sidelines, Yurika was cheering and Ayame was shouting. Iruka was a little over-matched and did not care what the girls were up to. Neither boy was faster than Hayate, and Iruka outweighed them both, but there were two of them and both were good at _taijutsu_. Iruka was only just capable of fending them off using the Konoha style.

He was beginning to shift into the liquid forms of Kiriga _taijutsu_ when he felt a sudden flare of _chakra_ behind him. An instant later, Hideki was bowled out of the fight by a furious foot to the face. Hayate fell in with Iruka on the remaining attacker. They got in several good blows before Hideki came back, and the fight was devolving into a brawl by the time the two Jounin pulled their Genin apart.

Genma's hand was like steel on Iruka's upper arm. It was probably bruising, he thought distantly, panting for breath. Hideki had gotten a solid kick into Iruka's ribs. The other Jounin had his unrepentant Genin by the collars, and was shaking them like a pair of puppies. Both Jounin were demanding explanations of their respective students. Ogano was the first to recover.

"Iruka started it, he always starts fights--"

"_URUSEI_!"

The group quieted in shock. Iruka winced and swiveled around to stare at Hayate, anger forgotten.

"Don't you dare lie!" Hayate snapped, still shouting with an impressive volume. His eyes were flashing and his chin was up. He looked absolutely spitting mad.

Iruka had forgotten that even shy, quiet, polite little Hayate had a temper. He rarely ever showed it. Genma had not known Hayate had a temper in the first place, and had let go of the small boy's arm in shock.

"You were picking on him because it's Tuesday! I saw you, don't you dare lie! And you jumped on him first, wouldn't your mother be so proud, picking on some--"

Hayate never got to finish. Ogano wrenched away from his Jounin mentor and punched Hayate square in the face.

Hayate went down with a yelp. Genma dropped Iruka and lunged to break up the fight again.

Iruka darted forward, shouldering Genma aside to crouch beside Hayate. Hayate had both hands clapped over his nose and was wearing the peculiar look of surprise that meant it had not started hurting...yet. Iruka snapped his hands through a familiar set of hand-signs, and spun _chakra_ through his fingers. There was blood trickling out from under Hayate's hands. Iruka brushed them away, his own hands wreathed with blue-green chakra, visible even under the sunlight.

"Hey, let me see, 'kay? C'mon, it's allright," Iruka murmured.

Hayate had started making noises like little hiccups, which meant that he was trying his best not to cry, because getting hit in the nose really hurt. Iruka knew that quite well. Iruka was far more focused on Hayate's nose though.

It was not broken, which was a relief, because Iruka was not anywhere near good with broken bones. It was bleeding profusely, however. _"Moderate hemorrhage, probably anterior,"_ Iruka thought, touching his fingertips to the bridge of Hayate's nose. _"Yes, mucosa already irritated by his allergies, and the trauma was just too much..."_ Iruka traced a very light pattern over Hayate's face, working his healing.

With the _Mizu no Ketsueki no_ _Jutsu_, Iruka was perfectly attuned to the flow of water--and therefore blood--in the flesh beneath his hands. It was simple to coax the blood to clot faster, just by thickening it the tiniest bit by drawing the water away from the edges of the torn blood vessels. Some of the water he drew out trickled through the blood on Hayate's face, thinning it. Iruka worked the water out, smoothed over the jagged edges of the ruptured vessels. He stopped the bleeding, and made sure some of the swelling would stay down until he could get some ice. He dropped his hands and sat back, studying Hayate's face to make sure he was not bleeding anywhere else. Then he dropped the _jutsu_ with a single sign.

"_Arigatou_," Hayate whispered, voice raw and hoarse, eyes wide and startled.

Iruka shook his head, and smiled a little. "We need some ice, it'll keep the swelling down. Okiku-_san_ will probably give us some."

Iruka realized, then, that everything was suspiciously quiet. He looked up to find the others all staring down at him and Hayate. Genma looked quite speculative. Ayame looked bewildered, as did the other Genin and their Jounin. Iruka realized that he had just used one of his Kiriga healing _jutsu_ in front of them all.

Iruka gulped.

Tuesday was not a good day.

* * *

"...and that's what happened, Sandaime-_sama_," Iruka reported, with a heavy sigh.

The Hokage peered over his current paper, then went back to it. Iruka knew he was not being ignored. The Hokage was a very, very busy person, and needed to get a lot of work done. It was very kind of him to let Iruka come and talk to him, Iruka knew. So Iruka kicked his feet, bumping the bottom of his chair, and waited.

"I don't think you need to be concerned, Iruka," the Hokage said, finally, setting his papers aside.

"But it was--"

The Hokage waved his hand. Iruka stopped trying to talk. The Hokage smiled, and it was a real smile that touched those dark eyes beneath the grey brows. "Do you foresee your actions having consequences that will hurt the village?"

Iruka thought. "_Ano_...I don't think so."

"Then why are you so worried?" The Hokage picked up another set of papers and examined them.

"But I though I wasn't...supposed...oh. Oh." Iruka grinned as it dawned on him. "I'm not supposed to use the _jutsu_ of my parents in full sight of anyone or in any way that may harm Konoha. It doesn't say I can't use them at all, _ne_?"

"Hmm? What you learn on your own time does not concern me. Nor does any _jutsu_ your teacher may approve of." The Hokage sent a sidelong stare across the papers to Iruka. "Genma has an interest in medical _jutsu_. You may want to talk to him if you would like to learn any."

"_Hai_!" Iruka jumped to his feet. "_Arigatou_, Sandaime-_sama_."

"Now, if you're done, I have a meeting to attend." The Hokage smiled at Iruka. Iruka beamed back.

* * *

**A/N:** Teasing and tears and realizations and lo and behold, loopholes in the law! Iruka and the Sandaime make a very sneaky pair. I'm not sure I want to tangle with those two.

As a side note, tomorrow I go and get my wisdom teeth out. Please wish me luck!

Next time, PEANUT-BUTTER! And explanations from the rascally Iruka.

A grand thanks to my faithful reviewers: **Ice Dragon3** and **Esoteric Memories**!

**Sumanisen** A very polite aplogy, a step above **gomen nasai** for politeness

**Daijoubu** I'm fine, it's fine

**Kyuubi no Kitsune** Fox of Nine Tails, or maybe better translated as Fox-Spirit of Nine Tails

**Itte** Go, let's go (I think my translator sister said, so blame **Samurai101** if it's wrong)

**Urusei** You're noisy, shut up, a slighty rude way of telling someone to be quiet

**A note on Iruka's medical jargon up there**: Big words for a twelve-year-old to be using, but Iruka's father worked in Konoha's hospital, and he had a big hand in Iruka's raising and training. Basically, what Iruka said was: moderate--not serious--bleeding to the front of the nose, nose already irritated, blah blah

**Mizu no Ketsueki no Jutsu **"Water of the Blood" no Jutsu, the best fangirl attempt I have. A water-based jutsu, allowing control of water within blood, be it a human body or no. A Kiriga medical technique.


	8. Ch 7: PeanutButter!

**A/N:** I almost forgot it was Thursday. Well, a lot's gone on. And now, a little ditty for your amusement. I think I picked it up at Girl Scout camp...

_Peanut sat on a railroad track  
His heart was all a-flutter  
Along came a choo-choo-train...  
...PEANUT-BUTTER!_

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

**It's AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Peanut-Butter!**

* * *

_May 22_

Genma and Hayate followed Iruka down the street. Iruka was bouncing along the street, shouting cheerful greetings to the neighbors. They greeted Iruka and Hayate well enough, but sent sullen glances at Genma and his Jounin uniform. Genma looked unconcerned, but Hayate could see how much he was worrying that _senbon_ between his teeth. Hayate really did not blame him. Iruka lived out here in the rough parts of town, where the civilians disliked _ninja_ in general. Hayate was a familiar face, though obviously he did not belong in these parts. Genma was new and Jounin besides.

Genma and Hayate both ducked when a rock shot out of a yard and whizzed past Genma's head.

Iruka bent to the road, snatched up a loose rock, and slung it right back. "_Oi_! You've got bad aim!"

"You've got bad taste in friends!" came the reply. There was no speaker or attacker in plain sight. Hayate thought, however, that the door of the one house was cracked a little too far open to be accidental.

"He's my Jounin_ sensei_!" Iruka bellowed back. " I didn't get to pick him!"

"Hey," Genma muttered.

"So bugger off!" Iruka finished. He turned and started trotting down the street again.

Hayate shook his head and followed, half impressed and half nervous. Only Iruka. Genma came after them, a little closer than he had walked before. At the dead-end of the street, where the houses ran right up against the riverbanks, Iruka waved to the old widow who lived across from him before he turned into his yard. Iruka bounded through the grass. It needed cutting, Hayate mused as he waded after Iruka. It was already mid-calf height.

Iruka had the door unlocked already and was bustling inside. Chuckling a little, Hayate paused inside to take off his sandals. Barefoot, he followed the noise of Iruka humming into the kitchen. "Are you really that hungry?"

"Starving," Iruka answered. He was slathering peanut-butter on a slice of bread.

"_Oi_, brat, you're being rude again," Genma commented from the doorway. Hayate jumped a little. Genma was very, very quiet.

"You can have some too if you want," Iruka replied, waving his peanut-buttery knife around. Hayate stepped back. "I'm not sure if I have enough tuna, though. Hayate doesn't like it, but maybe you do?"

"Peanut-butter and tuna. What. The. Heck." Genma was making a very interesting face.

"Is the honey where I left it yesterday?" Hayate asked, stepping away to explore the cabinets.

"No, I moved it this morning. Um, I think it's by the sink." Iruka had the tin of tuna out now. The smell got through Hayate's usual allergy-induced-stuffiness and made him wince. He put a hand over his nose. He hated the smell of tuna: it made him feel sick.

"Iiiiruuuukaaaa..."

"Sorry, it's not like I can help it." Iruka slapped the sandwich together, chunked the knife into the sink with a clatter, and scooped up his creation. He took a great big bite out of it. " 'Nn fuff im ih fifg," he mumbled around the mouthful.

"Apple or orange juice?" queried Hayate, after a moment of deciphering.

"Erhand. Ohry."

Genma slid up behind Iruka and whacked him on the head. "That is gross. Just...ew. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full? Mine did."

Iruka chewed and swallowed hastily. "Yes," he gasped. "She did. But when you're starving, you don't have to have manners."

Hayate sighed and went cabinet spelunking. It took him several tries before he found the jar of honey. He found some dried beans, a jar of pickles, and a jar with a very large preserved crab in it. He also found two very live mice, and a not-so-live cockroach. Hayate backed out of the cabinets, honey in hand. "Why is your crab sitting by the beans?"

"Keef de moush awa," Iruka answered. He was sitting on the counter beside the sink, mouth full once again. The sandwich was half-gone. Iruka, when hungry, practically inhaled food.

Genma was standing beside him. Genma had another knife out, and was very carefully spreading peanut-butter on a slice of bread. He shot Iruka a dark look. "Your bread's almost stale, brat." He mimed smacking Iruka in the head again. Iruka grinned, and pretended to duck the hit.

Then he turned and apparently stuck his tongue out at Genma. Hayate could not see it, from the angle he was at, but he bet from the horrified face Genma made Iruka probably had half-chewed peanut-butter-and-tuna-sandwich all over his tongue. Besides, it was just something Iruka would do. Hayate sighed and ducked back towards the cabinets with a flicker of _chakra_.

Barricaded back with the preserved crab and the dead cockroach, Hayate missed all the action, but there was a lot of shouting and thundering of feet involved--also the thin peculiar hiss and thop of _senbon_ being thrown and imbedded in drywall. Hayate lurked until the noises faded enough to signal that the impromptu fight had moved into the main living room. Only then did he emerge from his cabinet sanctuary.

He kept a careful ear on the fight as he made a half-sandwich of peanut-butter and honey, just in case they should come back into the kitchen. They did not seem inclined to--from what Hayate could hear it seemed like a whole bunch of dodging around furniture was going on. The breathless half-threats and grunts and general lack of killing intent made Hayate quite certain the whole scuffle was good-natured. Iruka and Genma's natures just made clashes inevitable.

Hayate put the loaf of bread back in the breadbox and shut it. He left Genma's abandoned slice out, along with the knife and the peanut-butter. He put the honey in the nearest cabinet, beside an assortment of canned goods and instant ramen packets. Iruka had a strange taste for the stuff. Hayate figured it was the salty taste. With a shrug, Hayate scrounged up a clean-looking glass and fetched the orange juice out of the fridge. As an afterthought, he got a glass for Iruka, too. Hayate was not terribly fond of orange juice, but he was thirsty. Peanut-butter did that to a person. And Iruka's milk had gone bad yesterday. Fortunately, Iruka had tasted it first, not Hayate.

Genma sauntered into the kitchen, and casually pulled his five _senbon_ from the wall beside the doorway. Iruka, empty-handed and licking his lips, dodged under Genma's elbow and pounced on the glass Hayate had left out for him. He drained half of it in one go. "Thanks, Haya-_kun_."

Hayate did not reply, as his mouth was full and he did have manners. Instead he smiled, as he leaned against Iruka's counter.

"So, what did you want us for?" Genma asked, threading the _senbon_ back into his sleeves. He fetched up his peanut-buttered slice of bread and considered it a moment. He reached for the knife to put more on it. "Since you obviously did not intend to feed us lunch."

"I wanted to talk about what happened Tuesday," Iruka said imperiously. He turned his back to the counter and jumped up to sit on it. He narrowly missed knocking Hayate's glass of juice over. "Because it's very, very important."

"Oh?" Genma asked. Under his heavy-lidded look, his honey-coloured eyes were sharp.

Hayate reached up and touched his nose, almost involuntarily. He had been just as shocked as the rest of them, two days ago. He had always known Iruka knew strange and different _jutsu_, even medical _jutsu_, but Tuesday had really driven it home. The cool touch of Iruka's spindly hands and the strangely liquid lap of his green-blue healing _chakra_ was not a sensation Hayate was going to forget about soon. He did not even have any bruises from the blow.

"You're going to tell us about your special _jutsu_, aren't you?" Hayate asked, softly.

Iruka nodded, decisively. Hayate read the tension and fine tremor in Iruka's shoulders, and knew his friend was not as confident as he sounded. "Because you need to know. After all, you're my Jounin mentor now, and I healed Hayate's nose. So it's not really a secret anymore."

"Hmm," said Genma, mouth full. He swallowed and went on. "What technique was that? It didn't look like the _Shousen Jutsu_, and you're really young to know that anyway."

"Hmm? No, and I won't learn that 'till later anyway." Iruka shrugged. "Besides, the scrolls and _'Tou-chan_'s notes don't make much of the _Shousen Jutsu_. It's impractical."

"Impractical how?" Genma pressed.

Hayate considered what he knew about the _Shousen Jutsu_. It was mostly theory, but theory held that the healer focused their _chakra_ in their hands and used it to essentially speed up healing time. He did not know much of the details, as they had not covered the topic extensively in the Academy. Hayate stayed quiet and listened as he ate his sandwich.

"It can waste _chakra_ and it's pretty invasive," Iruka chirped. He waved his hands to emphasize his point. Hayate ducked. "Sorry, Hayate. Anyway, what you're doing with the _Shousen_ is introducing a foreign agent--the healer's _chakra_--as a binding energy that speeds up the cells' metabolism, or if you're really skilled, unnaturally altering the cells. Unskilled users can waste of a lot _chakra_ if they're not careful."

Genma whistled. "You know your stuff, brat."

Iruka shrugged and waved a hand dismissively. "It's a pretty simple concept, really. Now, what I did was much more efficient. The _Mizu no Ketsueki no Jutsu_ I used basically let me control the water in Hayate's blood. I only drew some of the water out, and let the natural clotting process work. I also redirected some of the swelling, but only a very little. The less the body is interfered with, the better it heals."

Hayate had sidled along the counter to get out of the range of Iruka's elbows. Iruka talked with his hands, and standing next to him while he talked was a dangerous business.

"Yet Hayate there does not have a pair of shiners. How is that not interfering?"

Iruka give Genma a look that suggested Genma was mentally deficient. "What part of 'natural-clotting-process' did you not get? I stopped the bleeding, and since bruises are just blood trapped under the skin, no blood means no bruises." Iruka threw his hands up in the air and sighed. "Honestly."

Genma glared back. "No need to get snippy, brat."

"Be nice, 'Ruka," Hayate whispered.

"I am nice," Iruka replied, leaning over to tug on Hayate's curls. Hayate growled and smacked his hand away. Iruka sat back with a grin. "Anyway, so that's what I did yesterday. It's one of the few healing techniques I've mastered so far. There are a lot of others, but the scrolls are in order and _'Tou-chan_'s notes say I'm not to rush. Medical _jutsu_ are more difficult to master than regular ones." Iruka thudded his bare heels against the cabinets.

"...can I ask for a demonstration sometime?" Genma asked, after finishing off his bread. "I'd like to know what I've got. And you should tell Ayame."

"_Naze da?_"

"Because she's your team-mate, brat, and she should know." Genma took on a lecturing tone. "We work in teams to make our skills more effective. Every _shinobi_ does a better job with a partner to watch his back. But your partners can only help you when they know what you can do, and a team works best together when they all know each-other's skills. So Ayame needs to know. Besides, you've already told Hayate."

"Yeah, but...well, I actually healed Hayate. And Ayame...well, it's different. Hayate is my friend. Ayame isn't." Iruka frowned and slouched a little.

Hayate smiled a little and edged closer, brushing his arm against Iruka's knee in thanks. Iruka looked at him and smiled back. Then he tugged on Hayate's hair again. Hayate elbowed him in the knee. Friends or no, Iruka knew Hayate did not like having his hair pulled.

"So...why isn't Ayame your friend?" Genma asked, sounding puzzled. "You work well enough with her when you're not fighting."

"Because," Hayate whispered. He met Genma's honey-eyed gaze.

"She wasn't there," Iruka whispered.

Hayate looked back up at Iruka, and leaned in closer to his friend. He did not know how to explain it to Genma. They were friends because they were, because they had each-other and had since that terrible, terrible fire-filled night two years ago. And besides, Iruka was so strange and smiled so wide that no-one else ever cared to look beyond his smile. Hayate knew better. Hayate knew so much better and leaned closer. Iruka dropped an arm around Hayate's shoulders. Genma was staring at them with puzzlement and a sort of heaviness that made Hayate think that Genma might understand even without words.

"Besides," Iruka said, dredging up a demented grin. "She's a girl. Girls have cooties."

* * *

**A/N: **Okay.

**ARE YOU LISTENING?**

**GOOD.**

I write fanfiction for fun. But I also write it to improve my writing. It's a hobby, it's a passion. But I am NOT getting enough feedback for me to continue posting this story. One faithful reviewer is not enough. (Sorry, Ice Dragon3.) I'll give this story one more chapter--ONE MORE--and if it does not catch more than a single review, I'm taking it down alltogether.

I know that there are more than just one of you who read this story. It's been faved and watched. It's got up to ten hits per chapter. But I'm not getting any feedback at all. I have no idea if I'm doing well or just adding to the trash that abound here at . So. One more chapter. One last try. And then...well, we'll see, I guess.

Thanks to the faithful **Ice Dragon3**, who was the sole reviewer of the last chapter.

**Shousen Jutsu** Medical technique that focuses _chakra_ in the hands of the user to heal.


	9. Ch 8: Wasps' Nests

**A/N: **Well! Here we go! Thursday again, my friends. I've got lotsa rambling for you to read at the bottom, but for now, onto the story.

I own only Sashimoto Ayame, all the other chracters of Naruto belong to their creator.

**Once more, it's AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Wasps' Nests**

* * *

_May 30_

"Iruka! That's not a weed!"

"Aw, crumbs!"

Ayame whimpered and helped Iruka replant the radish. "Pay more attention! Hayate hasn't pulled up any plants at all."

"You pulled up a radish, too," Iruka retorted, looking pouty. "They look like weeds."

"Just try to pay attention," Ayame demanded. "We've only got another row to go, and then it's the corn, and that's easy."

"Yeah, and after we get cleaned up from this, the Hokage wants us to clean out one of his storage rooms," Iruka told her. "We won't be done working until dinner tonight. Argh..." He wiped sweat from his cheek with the back of his wrist, leaving a streak of dirt behind. "Why is it so hot? It's still only May!"

"It's the last week of May," Hayate said, softly. "June starts in three days, Iruka."

Ayame shook her head and looked around the garden. Genma was standing on the porch, talking to their client. The elderly lady had been very generous, and had given them iced water to drink and a break from the work earlier.

The heat was pretty incredible for May. The weather was going through a freak heat-wave. Ayame was dripping with sweat, same as the boys, and her hair was damp. She was even down to a light tank-top and her skort. Iruka was wearing the shortest pair of shorts Ayame had ever seen a boy wear and had taken off his tank-top earlier. Hayate was still wearing jeans, but they had gaping holes in the knees and his tank-top was almost see-through, it was so old. Genma had his sleeves rolled up and his flak-jacket half off. His hair was scraped back into a ridiculous little brush of a ponytail. He looked miserably hot and fit to melt.

Ayame sighed, and kept weeding. They were almost done. The client's garden was nice and small. It had only taken them an hour to get this close to finishing. She bet it would not even take ten minutes to finish up.

Only, of course, if Iruka stopped mistaking the radishes for the weeds.

"Iruka!"

"Crumbs!"

* * *

Ayame wished her hair was long enough to pull back into a ponytail. At least it was wet, and that wicked away the heat. The rest of her team-mates, and even Genma, looked just as damp as she, dressed in clean clothes for the next mission. Of course, they were likely to get just as dirty and sweaty as before: some of the storage rooms in the Hokage's tower had not been cleaned in years.

There was an ANBU to greet them at the front door. His mask was a bird of some sort. He nodded in greeting, but said nothing. He beckoned them to follow, and led them through the building to some of the first-floor storage rooms. The ANBU unlocked the door and undid the _jutsu_ that sealed the door shut. He stepped back, then, against the opposite wall, and gestured for them to continue. There was a pile of cleaning supplies in the hall.

Ayame had brought a large handkerchief to cover her hair with. She quickly fixed it into place. Dust-masks had been provided for all of them, but Hayate had brought his own. Ayame was a little surprised, but Hayate's cough had been getting worse in the past few weeks. She still had to ask.

"I thought you were only allergic to trees?" she queried, timidly.

Hayate looked at her, and she thought he smiled behind the mask. "_Aa_. But other things make it worse, and I don't want to pass out today."

"It's kinda scary when he does," Iruka put in. "Goes down coughing, and he just doesn't quit."

"Then why were we assigned to this?" Genma growled, tying on a dust-mask.

"Because we're so awesome, that's why!" Iruka cheered. He had also tied a cloth over his hair.

The first thing they did in the room was open all the ventilation they could, from the one window to the vents near the floor. The place was dark and stuffy. The window's glass had a tiny hole in it, and a wasp was batting around near the glass. Ayame flinched away from the wasp. She did not like wasps. But she did not want to kill it. She was trying to use a _kunai_ to herd it out the hole in the glass when a second _kunai_'s flat squashed the wasp flat against the sill.

Ayame yelped and jumped. She whipped around the find Hayate standing beside her, eyes narrowed and cold. She had never seen him look so vicious. Then he turned to her, and the expression faded back into his usual goodwill. "Can you get the window, or do you need help?" he asked, quietly.

"Um, I can do it," Ayame answered, still rattled.

Hayate nodded, and she thought he was smiling beneath the mask. He scraped his _kunai_ clean and sheathed it as he turned away. Ayame watched him go, puzzled and curious. There was obviously more to Hayate than she had thought. Within the past three days she had seen other sides of him besides the quiet, polite front had had always shown 'till now.

Ayame wrestled the window open, and turned back to help clean.

The cleaning was fun, in a way. It was dusty and dirty and hard work, but there was an element of discovery and adventure in the work. They uncovered boxes full of useless trinkets and rusty weaponry and musty clothes, archives of ancient scrolls, outrageously outdated furniture and humorously done portraits of various famous people. At the same time, they were getting absolutely filthy. Dust and grime and spiderwebs were everywhere. Some of the webs still had spiders in them. There were dead cockroaches and live ones and they even scared a mouse up. Ayame shrieked and jumped atop an old table.

The mouse ran up Iruka's bare leg and Iruka shrieked a note to match Ayame's.

No one quite saw where the mouse went. For a while after that they proceeded with caution.

"Hey, there's a box under here," Iruka reported, leaning over an old rickety chair.

"Well, pick it up while you're over there," Genma ordered, as he and Hayate moved a table across the room. "And we'll put it in the to-be-opened-and-sorted stack."

"Sure--aah!"

Ayame jumped at Iruka's sharp yell. She whirled to find him scrambling away from the chair, clutching one hand in the other.

In a moment she knew why. Something stung her on the shoulder, and she shouted too. She dropped the old portrait she had been holding and dashed for the door. She was stung twice more before she made it. She could hear yelps and thundering of feet behind her, but she did not stop to look. She ran down several halls before she stopped. They were all gathered in the main hall of the Hokage's tower, she and Iruka and Hayate and Genma and even their ANBU assistant. Iruka was whimpering and gingerly holding his right hand. Ayame desperately wanted to rub her shoulder and her arm, where she had been stung, but knew it would only make the throbbing pain worse.

"Why were there wasps in there?" Genma demanded of the group. He was cupping a hand over his right ear and grimacing.

"The window was broken," Ayame told him. She bit her lip. The stings really, really hurt.

The ANBU said a rather crude phrase. "I'll get a medic out here, then we'll deal with the wasps."

"Best to let them settle," Hayate said, voice unusually grim. "Then you can spray the nest and get them all. Right now they're too stirred up. You would miss a lot of them."

The ANBU hesitated, and nodded a little to Hayate. Then he vanished, apparently to fetch a medic.

"Fish, Hayate, you don't like wasps?" Iruka asked, a little feebly.

"No. They're bad." Hayate pulled his dust-mask down. He was scowling.

"But you like bees," Genma commented.

"Wasps will kill a hive of bees. They steal the honey and make the colony starve." Hayate looked fierce, though he spoke softly as ever. "Wasps don't make honey themselves, anyway. They're not useful like bees."

There was silence a moment. It was broken by Iruka. "_Oi_, I don't think you got stung, Hayate!"

Hayate shook his head and smiled a little. "I didn't."

"Oh, that's not fair!" Iruka wailed.

Ayame felt the same, but she did not say as much. "How did you do that? Even Genma-_sensei_ got stung!"

"I'm fast." Hayate shrugged a little.

Iruka shook his head. "Fast. I'll say. Were you the first one out the door?"

Hayate did not answer. He had started coughing. It was the last week of May, and all the trees were thick with leaves. Hayate's cough sounded absolutely awful, deep and hoarse and wet. He had both hands over his mouth, and the coughing fit made him shake on his feet. Iruka reached over with his unstung hand and grabbed Hayate by a shoulder to steady him. It was a longer fit than usual, and Ayame got worried.

But then he was breathing again, and it was nasty and rattled in his throat, but he nodded when Iruka asked him if he was all right. Genma offered a mild curse, startling Ayame. "You sure you're fine, brat?"

"Yes," Hayate rasped.

"He's good!" Iruka declared, waving his good hand. "He's still breathing!"

Hayate rolled his eyes and elbowed Iruka in the ribs. Iruka laughed as he took the hit. Ayame bit her lip, a little jealous. Iruka could tease Hayate like that, outrageous and out of line, but Hayate seemed to take it all in stride. In fact, as he lowered his hands, Hayate was smiling a little. It was not the quiet polite smile he always used, but something much rarer--a small genuine smile that twisted up more to the right than it did on the left. Ayame wondered, a little bitterly, why Iruka of all people could get that smile.

The bird-masked ANBU returned, medic in tow. The medic attended to Iruka first, as the most badly stung. He had a count of five stings on his hand, and two more on that same arm. Ayame was next. The cream and bandages the medic put over her three stings made them almost stop throbbing completely. Genma got attended to last, as he only had one sting, on his ear. The ANBU had a bandage on his bare shoulder, Ayame saw, and marveled at the fact that Hayate had escaped unscathed when even the ANBU had not.

The ANBU had a spray canister of something that smelled foul, and he only stayed long enough to see that the medic knew who to attend. Then he stalked back towards the storage room, completely silent. Ayame watched him go.

"You're their Jounin?" the medic asked Genma. "Watch the one with the hand. So many stings can be dangerous, especially if it turns out he's allergic. Here, re-apply this in about an hour." The medic handed Genma a little tube of the cream he had put in their stings.

"I will," Genma promised, eyeing the tube.

"Good luck," the medic told them, and left.

The ANBU reappeared shortly after the medic left. "You can go back in now," he told them. "I'm pretty sure I got all of the wasps."

"Good," Hayate said softly, as he pulled his mask back up.

* * *

**A/N:** I've been wanting to use the idea of "characters run into nest of wasps" for a long time now. I'm glad I could use it here.

ANYWAY! Last chapter got a grand total of! Four reviews. Same as chapters two and three, actually. (It also has twenty-one hits. Something's disproportionate here. 4-to-21 are very uneven odds.)

A GRAND FASTASTIC AWESOME THANKS TO: **Ally Plz**, **Ice Dragon3**, **Suicidal - Shinigami**, and **eggomilburnigan**! You have made this update possible!

I'm not a fantastic writer, not like my sister. I don't rake in the reviews. I've always hesitated to put a "limit" on my stories, because it seems kinda hokey to me. But I'm setting one for Dance With Me. If I don't get at least three reviews, the updates will stop.

**I repeat: Dance With Me needs at least three reviews per chapter to keep the story going.**

Sorry for being so hokey, but...

This story will be _long_. I am now _posting_ chapter eight. I'm currently _writing_ chapter twenty-one!

And chapter twenty-one, as far as I can see, is not anywhere near the half-way point. This story will follow Genma, Iruka, and Hayate until Iruka makes Chuunin. That's not-quite four years. I will not cover those years in detail, but that's still a lot of writing. By waiting to post this until I did, I have a nice pad of already-written chapters between me and the desperate push of posting.

But that does not mean I still don't need the crit and encouragement from reviews. "Artists live off praise," as the saying goes, and it's the truth. Part of my enthusiam for this story is directly fueled by feedback. Vain as that is, well, it's the way the world works.

**ANBU** An acronym (that by itself means Hidden Section) for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai, Special Assassination and Tactical Squad. The masked soldiers of Konoha, the elite of the elite.


	10. Ch 9: Take A Fall

**A/N:** Wow! So many reviews last chapter! I almost forgot it was Thursday--I've had a rough week.

I own Sashimoto Ayame, but the rest of the Naruto characters belong to their creator.

**Check it out, it's an AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Take a Fall**

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_June 11_

Genma and Ayame walked together to training ground. He had discovered, three weeks back, that his apartment was just a street down from her house. It was now a routine for him to stop by and walk her to their team meetings. It had certainly improved her timing: team meetings now started when they were supposed to.

But it was not a team meeting today. No, what they were going to do was go down to the training grounds for Iruka's little demonstration of his talents. Iruka had been a little reluctant, but Genma had eventually gotten him to agree to show Ayame as well. Genma, quite personally, thought Iruka was more trouble than the brat was worth. Despite a ready smile and a joking personality, Iruka was difficult and stubborn. The easy smile was a front, and a surprisingly thin one.

Genma fingered that thought, and glanced down at Ayame. He wondered if the girl knew Iruka's outrageous behavior was mostly an act. Likely not, the way she reacted to the boy's antics...but Hayate, it seemed, knew Iruka quite well. Genma pondered the lopsided team-work his Genin had. Hayate and Iruka worked well together. Hayate and Ayame worked well together. But Iruka and Ayame's team-work was haphazard at best. With Hayate as a mediator, everything smoothed out and missions got done. But when Genma arranged it so that Hayate was not immediately in the mix...well...

When they entered the training ground, Hayate and Iruka were easily visible. They were sparring, in a fast-paced exchange of blows and blocks. Hayate was fast, but small for his age, and easily overpowered. Iruka was not that fast, but he had strength. Genma shook his head as Iruka caught hold of Hayate and easily tossed the smaller boy to the ground. Ayame, on the other hand, could win against either boy. That would only last a few years, however, until the boys started growing.

"_Oi_," Genma called, though he knew the two had probably sensed them coming.

The two fell apart. Iruka whirled and beamed. "Genma-_sensei_! Ayame! _Ohayo_!"

Hayate looked a bit dusty. He coughed briefly. Genma winced at the familiar barking coughs: they sounded awful. Hayate finished the fit with an odd, retching hack. He glanced up at them. "Hmm. Look at that bird." He pointed behind Genma and Ayame.

Genma glanced that way, as did Ayame and Iruka. Genma grinned to himself when he heard Hayate spit. Hayate had started that particular routine after Ayame had declared how gross it was for him to spit out what he coughed up. Hayate had given her a rather exasperated look at the time. Genma did not blame the boy.

"I'm ready to demonstrate my super-cool, awesome _ninja_ abilities, Genma-_sensei_." Iruka sounded entirely too pleased with himself, as he gestured with both hands.

"Well, I'm watching," Genma told him. "What's first?"

"_Taijutsu_," Iruka answered. He bounced on his toes, eyes bright. "With assistance from the lovely Hayate." Beside him, Hayate rolled his eyes.

"But we've seen Iruka's _taijutsu_," Ayame commented. She sat down in the shade of the tree. "I mean, he doesn't use the stances he's supposed to, but I thought he was just being lazy."

"I'm never lazy!" interjected Iruka. He set his feet carefully, and moved two steps. It was an attack, but Genma could not recognize the footwork or the way Iruka's hands were spread. And Iruka's whole manner of moving had changed: instead of the solid moves of the usual Konoha _taijutsu_, Iruka flowed, balance swinging easily from one foot to the other. Instead of the awkward forms of Iruka's usual fighting stances, this was liquid, natural, and he moved effortlessly.

"Okay, Hayate. Remember what I said."

Hayate nodded. He settled into a familiar Konoha stance, and at Iruka's nod, moved through a very standard attack routine. Iruka, instead of dodging the kick, caught Hayate's leg under one arm and leaned, grabbing Hayate's pants with his free hand. In one easy motion, Hayate was on the ground. He rolled easily to his feet, and attacked Iruka again. Iruka angled his wrist and forearm to divert the blow, snagged Hayate's sleeve and a handful of his pants and threw him again, effortlessly.

Iruka was smiling, eyes bright. Hayate looked somewhere between amused and resigned. He attacked again, a quick pattern of kick-strike to the face, and Iruka flipped him to the ground again, only this time maintaining a hold on Hayate's wrist, twisting the boy's arm up at an angle likely to dislocate it, given enough pressure. Hayate twitched, and Genma caught the flash of fight that ran across his face.

"Whoa, easy," Iruka said, releasing Hayate quickly. "I told you not to fight. I don't want to hurt you."

Hayate shook his head as he sat up. He rubbed his shoulder. "_Gomen_, I couldn't help it."

"While that's impressive, you're only throwing Hayate around," Genma pointed out.

"I could throw you around." Iruka grinned a little. "I only picked Hayate 'cause he knows how to fall really well, and he trusts me." Iruka nodded, and gestured expansively with both hands. "I wouldn't really hurt him, 'cause he's my team-mate, but some of those throws are designed to seriously hurt an enemy. The last one I used, if it had been a real fight, I would have broken his arm or dislocated his shoulder, whichever gave out first."

Iruka reported this in a perfectly matter-of-fact manner, with a conversational tone and his usual wild hand-motions. Hayate, sitting on the ground beside him, looked somewhat amused by this. Genma was unimpressed. It was true, Iruka's moves looked liquid and strange, but Genma doubted the boy could actually throw him.

"I know how to fall," he told Iruka. "Give Hayate a break and we'll see if you can throw me."

Iruka grinned, and it was sharp, almost dangerous. Genma felt a sudden surge of wariness, but chalked the expression up to the boy's confidence and strode forward. Hayate stood and walked over to the tree. He sat down in the shade beside Ayame. Genma looked at the boy in front of him: Iruka looked absurdly small, after some of the opponents Genma had faced over the years. Genma shifted into a steady stance, and watched Iruka set his feet.

"Ready?" Genma asked.

Iruka looked up. The sunlight glanced off his eyes with a glittering flash of blue. He was smiling, and it was a smile that made Genma's stance shift instinctively to a more defensive one. He had seen that smile on veteran ANBU. It did not belong on a child. It was wide and sharp and wicked, bloodthirsty and wild and just that bit insane. It made Genma's palms itch for the weight of honest steel, his fingertips tingle for poisoned _senbon_ to throw.

He attacked almost out of pure reflex when Iruka moved, launching himself at the opening he saw. His fist was met by a much smaller palm, the attack not blocked but shifted aside. Iruka's free hand closed on Genma's shirt, high on his shoulder, and the boy pivoted, pulling. Genma's weight tipped over his center of balance and he went down, Iruka's hold on his arm restricting him to only one hand to break his fall...only the angle was all wrong; if he tried he would break his arm. Genma relaxed the split-second before he hit the ground, let the impact recoil through him. It nearly knocked the breath out of him. He registered the flash of movement towards his face and rolled, hands flying for a weapon, all his senses on high alert.

Genma rolled into a crouch and then froze, realizing Iruka had gone still. The boy had one foot raised. Genma had an array of _senbon_ in either hand, adrenaline threading through his veins. He realized he had just come very, very close to making a poisoned pincushion out of his student. Iruka was grinning, but it was his usual mischievous grin, not that predatory expression of before.

"And that was where I would have kicked you in the face," Iruka told him. "Breaking your nose, likely shoving the bones up into your brain. Or if not, you would at least have been distracted long enough for me to use a _kunai_ on you."

Genma realized, with a wash of shame, that he had underestimated the kid. The easy throws with Hayate had not been flukes. Had this been a real fight, Genma very well might have been dead, or close to it. He stood, and briefly considered the _senbon_ in his hands. He lifted the ones in his right hand and nibbled on a tip. The taste was sharp and bitter, alkaline. Ah, left hip then, his hands must have been crossed when he reached for them. Easily, he slipped the _senbon_ back into their cases.

"Pretty impressive, brat," Genma allowed. He noticed how Iruka brightened under the implied praise. "But you nearly got yourself full of _senbon_."

"Yeah, but they're _senbon_." Iruka shrugged. "It's just an extra-large needle-poke. Or maybe like a super-big mosquito."

Genma flicked a non-poisoned _senbon_ into his right hand, and snapped it towards Iruka. It struck the boy in the shoulder. Iruka jumped, startled, and a handful of kunai appeared in his left hand. His right did not move. The arm hung limply, and Iruka looked down at it, bewildered. Genma smirked, and sauntered closer.

"That extra-large needle, as you said, is now lodged in the brachial plexus, preventing both motion and sensation," Genma drawled. "And it's going to hurt like heck when I pull it out. I don't know what they taught you in the Academy, but I know from personal experience that many _shinobi_ coat their _senbon_ with poison."

Like himself. Genma steadied Iruka's shoulder with one hand. Iruka pouted up at him, but held still. Genma pulled the _senbon_ free with a swift, smooth snatch, straight out, the same way it had gone in. Iruka yelped and jumped beneath Genma's hand. A few drops of blood appeared at the tiny hole, but that was all. Genma felt a little guilty--even if his pride was bruised, he hadn't really needed to hurt the kid to make his point. And that particular nerve cluster did indeed hurt when messed with, as it was a major bundle of nerves. Iruka had put his kunai away again and was rubbing his shoulder, making pained faces.

"So, the lesson is, it doesn't matter if it looks harmless. It could still kill you." The lesson went for himself, as well. He had underestimated the child in front of him. Genma twisted his hand around on Iruka's shoulder and pressed his thumb to a certain point. Iruka flinched again. "That ought to make it stop hurting." He lifted his hand away.

Iruka rolled his shoulder, winced a little, and flexed his hand instead. "Ow. But they taught us in the Academy that it's hard to throw accurately enough in a fight to do that."

"Practise," Genma answered. "Practise, practise, practise." He laughed a little at Iruka's frown. "It's not talent. And besides, if the _senbon _are poisoned, accuracy doesn't matter quite so much."

"Like _kunai_ with exploding tags?" Iruka asked, grinning again.

"_Eeto_, sort of."

"No, exploding tags are cheating," Ayame called, in a sing-song manner.

"Then I cheat!" Iruka declared loudly, whirling to face her. "I'm a _ninja_, and I lie, cheat, and steal!" He cackled.

Genma sighed in exasperation. He doubted he had ever been as childish as these three...but then, he had grown up during a war, where nobody was childish. Perhaps, he mused, it was a good thing they could enjoy being young and at peace. But then it could also get them killed, if they did not learn to take these lessons seriously. Genma frowned as he watched the usual fight break out between Ayame and Iruka. Hayate shook his head and offered soft, soothing interjections, acting the peacemaker again.

"_Oi_," Genma called. Lately, that had been enough to make them all calm down. It worked this time as well. "Is that all you can do, Iruka? Just different _taijutsu_?" He knew it was not, but all Iruka needed was a little prodding.

"_Chigau_! I can do lots more!" protested Iruka. He spun to face Genma, and flung his arms wide. "I know lots of different _jutsu_, too! And they're all super-cool!" He waved his arms to emphasize his point.

And sometimes Iruka could be downright amusing, Genma thought, fighting not to smile.

"Then show us," Ayame demanded. "Don't just talk about it!"

"I will!" Iruka nodded vigorously, and then trotted towards the small pond on the training grounds. "_Kitte_!" he demanded.

Hayate scrambled to his feet, and offered a polite hand to Ayame. Genma shook his head. He put the _senbon_ away, after wiping it clean on his sleeve, and sauntered after Iruka. The boy was dancing impatiently at the side of the water. As soon as they got closer, Iruka laughed aloud, spun on a heel, and darted out across the surface of the water, tracking ripples.

Genma had not started teaching his Genin to water-walk yet. He had started them on trees first, because it was a little easier to get the hang of that. The trees gently attracted _chakra_, but even so it was hard to maintain a constant flow. Ayame and Hayate had almost gotten it down. But to Genma's puzzlement, Iruka's progress had been very inconsistent, despite his excellent _chakra_ control. Some days he was perfectly fine. Others he was constantly falling off the trees. Water was more difficult to walk on, being almost completely neutral to _chakra_, and walking on it required strict control.

Iruka skidded to a halt in the middle of the small pond, and bounced on his toes. He grinned, wild and bright at them. His slender brown hands flashed through a rapid series of signs. The water beside him rippled and bulged, rising upward to suddenly become a mirror-image of Iruka: a water clone. Iruka slapped the clone on the shoulder, making the surface image ripple. They leapt apart, and began to spar atop the water. Genma, tracking the _chakra_ patterns, could only just tell which one was the real Iruka.

The longer he watched, the more impressed Genma was. Iruka's _chakra_ control was not just good: it was fantastic. Not only could the boy keep his footing perfectly, but even when the clone threw him, Iruka remained atop the water. Not even his ponytail was wet. Iruka was using _chakra_ to enhance his Kiriga fighting stances, and judging from the way the clone's outline deformed when Iruka hit it, there was a considerable amount of power going into those knife-handed strikes.

Iruka was smiling. It was a wide, tooth-baring grin, eager and wolfish. His eyes glinted and glittered blue beneath the sunshine. Genma shivered a little as Iruka's strike finished off the clone, a strike straight through the neck. The look on Iruka's face in that moment did not belong on a child of only twelve.

* * *

**A/N:** Pride goes before a fall, as Genma learned this chapter!

Many many fervent thanks to the people who reviewed this chapter (Five! FIVE! I'm floored!): **Suicidal - Shinigami**, **Ally Plz**, **charlotte**, **Ice Dragon3**, and **Ryo Yuriko**!

And to **Ryo Yuriko**'s request: Hayate likes bees. His aunt keeps them. He explained why he doesn't like wasps: because wasps will kill a hive of bees. (Besides, who doesn't like bees? I like them!)

Next chapter: Hayate and Iruka flirt with trouble. Because you never have to make trouble, it finds you!

**Chigau** It's different, used in a negative sense to say "you're wrong."

**Kitte** Come!

**A note on Iruka's fighting style:** Iruka's Kiriga taijutsu is based on **Akido**. It is a very beautiful martial art, liquid and seeming effortless. The style is focused on using opponent's attacks and force against them, using various throws and holds. Using this, it is conceivable that a much smaller Iruka could in fact throw Genma. (As a side note, I'm imagining Konoha's taijutsu style as more similar to karate.)


	11. Ch 10: Thicker Than Water

**A/N: **Late this evening but still here. Here we go, chapter ten! It picks up immediately after the last chapter. Be not confused.

Title taken from the old saw: "Blood is thicker than water."

I own no Naruto characters.

**It's an AU!**

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**Chapter Ten: Thicker Than Water**

* * *

_June 11-12_

Iruka watched Genma and Ayame leave. He was hot and sweaty from all his exertion earlier. There was a slight pull within that told him his _chakra_ reserves were a little low. Nothing terribly bad, but he had better rest for a while. It was a good thing they had no missions scheduled for tomorrow, or even a team meeting. As soon as the other two were out of sight, Iruka turned and waded off into the pond, splashing cheerfully to cool down.

Hayate chuckled at him, and Iruka whirled, skimming an arm over the surface of the pond. A sheet of water flew up and drenched Hayate, who was standing on the bank nearby. Hayate yelped and jumped. He glared briefly at Iruka before he started coughing.

Iruka was not too terribly worried. It was June, after all, and the trees all had rich green leaves. Hayate coughed hard, hacked and spat. He turned back to Iruka. "You," he rasped, "are an insufferable show-off with a swelled head."

"Aaw, you're only saying that because you're jealous!" Iruka jabbed. He waded to the center of the pond, which only came to his waist. He splashed around, getting wetter and cooler. "Because I'm such an awesome _ninja_! And you're...um...well, you're _ninja_ too...except I think you're more _samurai_ than _ninja_, you know, what with your sword and all."

"Which I do not have today," Hayate pointed out, softly.

It was the truth. In preparation for being thrown around for Iruka's demonstration, Hayate had left his _katana_ at Iruka's house. Hayate was staying the night at Iruka's, just because they could. Also, Iruka wanted to show Hayate some of the things he had kept from Ayame and Genma. Team-mate and teacher they might have been, but Iruka had been raised from the cradle as a _shinobi_. One of the most important rules he had been taught was: don't reveal all you know. Keep an advantage by concealing your true abilities.

But Hayate...Hayate was an exception. Because he was, in the same way Iruka was the exception to his parent's rules. Family was different. Family was taken care of and protected and taught. Hayate was not a blood-bound relative, but Iruka felt it was close enough. And besides, there was a certain scroll Iruka had found among his parent's archives...

"Stop daydreaming," Hayate chided gently. He stepped carefully out onto the water. His balance wobbled a little, and his feet sank a bit, but he was getting the hang of it. Iruka cheered for him. Though Genma had only started them on tree-walking, Iruka had been teaching Hayate to water-walk.

"That's right, ebb and flow, just like the water. No...oh, there! _Yatta_!"

Hayate stood carefully beside Iruka, biting his lip in concentration. His hands were spread a little, which Iruka found incredibly amusing, because the only balance Hayate was trying to find was in the _chakra_ flow in his feet. Iruka laughed at his friend. Hayate glanced at him and smiled, a real smile that quirked up to the right.

Hayate had two kinds of smiles: the polite ones and the real ones. Most of the time, he smiled his polite smiles, straight and little and soft. But when he was amused or relaxed enough, he smiled for real, a funny crooked smile that dimpled his right cheek and touched his eyes. Iruka liked those crooked smiles, because they were real, and it was fun to tease them out. Iruka did not know how Hayate could smile even when he did not feel like it. Iruka could only smile when he was happy. And he was happy most of the time, because it was better than being sad all the time.

Iruka hated the sick heavy feeling of being sad. After **that night**, two years ago by now, he had been sad for so long. He had missed his parents so much. Iruka had gotten fed up with being so sad and hurt all the time, that he had made up his mind to be happy as much as he could. Now he was only sad on Tuesdays, so he could be cheerful the rest of the time. Hayate understood, but not many other people did. Hayate understood, because he'd been lost just like Iruka, out in the acrid smoke and bitter ash. They'd been lost and found each-other, and had kept each-other ever since.

Iruka blinked out of his heavy musings, and found Hayate had worked out how to kneel atop the water. He was tweaking Iruka's thick ponytail, with deceptively demure look on his face. Iruka laughed up at him, and Hayate's dark umber eyes lit with laughter as well. "Done daydreaming?" he asked softly, voice a little raspy but amused.

"_Aa_. C'mon, I'm hungry." Iruka reached up and pushed at Hayate's hands in his hair. "Let's go home and eat."

"_Hai, hai_," Hayate chuckled, standing carefully and pacing across the water to the bank.

Iruka waded after him, smiling.

* * *

Iruka unrolled the scroll and draped it across Hayate's knees.

Hayate paused in his consideration of the old chess-board. His eyes skimmed the kanji quickly: Hayate read very fast. He blinked, and looked up at Iruka, frowning a little. "What?" he asked quietly.

"It'd make you my blood brother, technically. You're already pretty much that, but this would make it official, and then _'Kaa-chan_ and _'Tou-chan_ won't come haunt me for sharing all my secrets with you," Iruka told him.

Hayate blinked up at him, obviously puzzled. "Haunt you...? Never mind. But, um..." Hayate glanced down to the scroll. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" Iruka answered, quickly. "Er, unless you don't want to, um, I..."

"No, no!" Hayate looked up at Iruka again. He was really smiling, and while he still looked a little surprised he was also pleased. "I...of course I want to, 'Ruka. You're my best friend. I always wanted a brother, anyway."

Iruka beamed, and dropped down to hug Hayate. Hayate huffed as Iruka squeezed him tightly. "Haya_-kun_, you're the best!" Hayate choked out something that could have been either thanks or agreement. He coughed, and Iruka let go. "Okay, I'll go get brush, and we need another scroll."

Iruka jumped to his feet and scrambled through the house, bare calloused feet sliding across the worn wooden floors. He found a small blank scroll and a brush in his father's old study room. After a moment of rifling through drawers, he even found an old ink-dish they could use. It seemed it had been used for this purpose previously: there were rusty stains on the pale blue porcelain. Iruka charged back into the main living room. Hayate was still sitting where Iruka had left him, puzzling over the scroll.

Iruka plopped down beside his friend and laid the items out. "Okay, and...oh,_ kunai_!"

"_Koko ni_." Hayate produced one from the waistband of his jeans.

"_Domo_." Iruka took the sharp blade. "I'll go first, so you can see." He held his left wrist over the little bowl. "The safe place to cut is on the side, here. Not too far over, 'cause if you're in a hurry and go too deep you'll catch that tendon and that's bad." Iruka nicked a narrow cut on the inside edge of his wrist, below his thumb. "Push a little _chakra_ in it, the blood'll hold it."

Iruka set the kunai down and squeezed his arm, making the blood drip down into the little dish. The bright red blood contrasted vividly with the pale blue porcelain. Iruka had to wipe the cut twice to get enough. It kept trying to clot up, likely due to the _chakra_ he had threaded into the blood there. He sat back when he had enough, and pressed the hem of his shirt to the cut. He nodded to Hayate.

Looking a little apprehensive, Hayate leaned over and retrieved his _kunai._ He hesitated, then carefully imitated Iruka's cut, on the inside edge of his wrist--only Hayate nicked his right wrist, because he was left-handed. Iruka felt it as Hayate pressed a little tendril of _chakra_ through the cut. The blood dripped steadily enough into the bowl, mingling with Iruka's.

"That's good." Iruka waited until Hayate drew back.

Hayate promptly put his wrist to his mouth and sucked on the cut. Iruka shook his head at him and carefully swirled the dish, mixing the blood together. He unrolled the blank scroll, and took up the brush. He dipped it into the blood and carefully wrote his name on the scroll. When he was done, he passed the brush to Hayate. Hayate leaned over and put his name on the scroll as well. The bright red blood, already growing darker, was a shocking contrast to the pale paper.

Iruka blew on it to make it dry faster. " 'N that's all. Don't have any _sake_, but that don't matter. The blood 'n _chakra_'s the important part." Judging it was dry enough, Iruka carefully rolled the scroll up. He stood and walked over to the family shrine. With a brief service to his parent's memory, Iruka set the scroll in front of the shrine, like an offering. "There. We're brothers now."

He turned around and found Hayate smiling crookedly at him, blood smeared across his lower lip.

Iruka smiled back.

* * *

"Umino_-kun_, dare I ask what you are doing?"

Hayate froze, crouched beside Iruka. Iruka just tilted his head back and grinned up at the policeman. "Uchiha_-san_! I'm drawing on the street with chalk! See, isn't it nice?"

The policeman, marked as an Uchiha by the ash grey eyes and elegant facial features, looked as though he was trying not so smile. He untwisted his mouth and spoke again. "I think I'm going to have to ask you to stop, Umino_-kun_."

"_Naze da_?" Iruka sat back on his heels and gave the chalked design a once-over. "Um, if it's public indecency again I can put clothes on it."

"No, no." The Uchiha had to stop and bite his lip before he could continue. "But I don't think you're allowed to draw chalk outlines of bodies on the street unless you're with the Konoha police force. As often as you're in the station, you are not a member of the police force. So, I must ask you to stop."

Iruka scowled. "Hey, it's artistic expression! I think you're trying to stifle my artistic growth! That's oppression, I tell you!"

Beside him, Hayate squeaked, probably in an attempt to get Iruka to be quiet.

The policeman snorted, and tried very, very hard to keep a straight face. The rest of the market-square was bustling, but many afternoon shoppers were stopping to watch the drama. Iruka was well aware of this fact. He was quite comfortable making a scene, because Uchiha Kaika was one of the nicer policemen, and probably would not haul Iruka down to the station just for drawing dead-body-outlines in the market-square.

If he figured out that Iruka had switched the street-signs around again, though, he would arrest Iruka, and probably Hayate as an accomplice.

Thus, Iruka wanted to make a scene here instead of three streets across, so he could not be located at the crossroads where he had switched the signs around. Whoever tried to find the Hokage's tower--if they did not know the way already--would wind up at the hot-springs instead.

"I think I should be allowed to draw whatever I want on the street. It's public, yeah? Meaning it belongs to the people and I'm people, right?"

Kaika snorted, and regained control. "Yes, that is so. But I will ask that you don't draw chalk outlines of bodies. I might have to take you in on account of misleading evidence. And perhaps defacement of public property--you know that as well as I do, Umino_-kun_."

He did. Iruka made a show of considering it. "Okay, fine, I'll stop. I don't like visiting the police station anyway: it stinks."

Kaika shook his head. "Most of us don't like it when you visit, either," he muttered. "Well, I'm off on my rounds. Don't make trouble, Umino_-kun_."

Iruka snorted and muttered under his breath. "You don't have to make trouble, all you have to do is find it."

Hayate made a strangled noise, somewhere between a laugh and a cough.

Iruka waited until Kaika had disappeared into the crowd. Then he turned to Hayate. "Ready to scram? When they come looking, it'll be here. So, we go! ...what in the name of the mother of all fish are you drawing?"

Hayate looked a cross between guilty and amused. "It's a bee," he said faintly, voice almost lost in the market-square's bustle.

Iruka looked at the chalked design, then at Hayate's yellow-smeared fingers. To get a better angle, Iruka stood up and looked again. He shook his head and scuffed his feet through his own drawing, though the full-sized outline of a body was only partway done. "Haya_-kun_, there's not many bees big enough to carry people off. I think you've been reading too much _manga_."

Hayate said something Iruka did not quite catch. He turned around and raised an eyebrow. Hayate was giving him a very woeful look. Hayate was good at those. "I said, you don't remember last night, do you? You were talking in your sleep. Again. About giant bees. So it's your fault."

"What? You're babbling on about nonsense again! I do not talk in my sleep! And if I did, it wouldn't be about bees! More likely fish. Finish up your bee, Hayate, we gotta go. We're on a tight schedule. I give us two minutes more." Iruka shuttled together the sticks of chalk and clanked them all into the box. Some of the thick sticks broke, but it was fine. Chalk was like ninja: it worked broken or whole.

Hayate made a finial swipe with his fingers and tossed the chalk to Iruka. He dusted his hands off as he stood.

Iruka caught the chalk easily, shut the lid on the box, and scooped it up. "To the river! We must go!" Iruka declared. He reached over and pulled on Hayate's curls before darting away. Hayate made no noise, but when Iruka threw a glance over his shoulder the boy was in hot pursuit.

Laughing, Iruka led the way down to the river.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, there's your feel-good-fluff for the day. Whew. And no, I know nothing about legal procedures. I'm making it up as I go. Feel free to point out glaring inaccuracies.

Next chapter: D-rank missions! Hunting for cats! Scandalous extramartial affairs! ...and I'm only haf-joking about that last one. Aren't you curious now?

SIX reviews last chapter! It's a new record! Wow! An amazing huge wonderful thanks to my reviewers: **anon.**, **Ally Plz**, **eggomilburnigan**, **Ryo Yuriko**, **InARealPickle**, and **Ice Dragon3**!

Concerning **InARealPickle**: Sorry to have misled you. The Kyuubi Attack _did_ happen. This is AU because Genma is only Tokubetsu (Special) Jounin. He would not be assigned a Genin team in canon. Also, There is no canonical evidence that Hayate and Iruka were ever on a Genin team together. Further divergences from canon will be seen in later chapters. That's why this is AU.

**Yatta** An exclamation of triumph and accomplishment, often translated as "You did it!" or "I did it!"

**Koko ni** Here

**Domo** A shartened version of **domo arigatou**, slightly slangy

**Naze da** Why?


	12. Ch 11: Feline Infidelity

**A/N: **It's Thursday again! This chapter was very inspired by real-life adventures. Have fun!

I do not own any of the Naruto characters. I do own Sashimoto Ayame and the cat.

**It's an ****AU****, folks!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Feline Infidelity**

* * *

_July 14_

Almost two months straight of pulling weeds and running domestic errands was, quite frankly, a little boring. Hayate sighed and shrugged his left shoulder, settling his _katana_ more comfortably against his shoulderblade. Beside him, Iruka danced a little jig from foot to foot as they stood in line at the mission desks. Ayame was standing quietly, but Genma was audibly clanking a _senbon_ against his teeth. Hayate wondered that their teacher had any teeth left; that much metal contact had to be bad for them.

The line moved up, and they were facing the mission desk, ready for their second assignment of the day. Yuuhi Kurenai was manning the desk today. She smiled at them. Hayate smiled politely back. "Back again, Genma-_san_?" Kurenai asked.

"Yeah, these brats work fast." Hayate thought Genma sounded pleased. The teenager was certainly smiling like it, slightly smug. "So, what have we got left today?"

"Hmm. In the D's we have...ah, here's a little action for you. Missing cat. Family claims it was chased off by a pair of dogs, might be injured, and they're worried. Here's your description, and the family's name." Kurenai fished out a scroll and passed it over. "Have fun."

"Joys." Genma took the scroll, and they all shuffled off to the side. It was noisy in the missions office, and the three Genin crowded close around the teenager as he read the scroll. Hayate made sure to insert himself between Ayame and Iruka: otherwise they would fight and get in trouble.

"Cat, small, shorthair, tortoiseshell, blue collar with bell, answers to Tora." Genma scowled. "Great, doesn't like to be handled. Well, at least they told us that."

"Hey, doesn't your cat have a blue collar with a bell?" Iruka asked, turning to Hayate. "You were telling me this morning she'd been missing for a few days, yeah?"

"_Aa_, but Chuu likes being handled. Besides, she comes and goes. She's a cat, Iruka." Hayate shrugged. He was not overly worried about the cat.

"Chuu? Why is your cat named Chuu?" Ayame looked interested.

" 'Cause she likes to give kisses." Hayate shrugged.

"Where do we start looking, Genma-_sensei_?" Iruka demanded.

"Ohime Street, apparently," Genma answered, studying the scroll. He rolled it up and tucked it into a pocket of his flak vest. "We'll probably need to search Kaede Park, because that's nearby. Got your radios, everyone? Okay then. _Ikuzo_."

* * *

Hayate and Iruka paired together to search the park. Genma usually had them work in pairs, claiming if something happened then there would be two of them to deal with it. Not that they expected anything to happen on a simple mission, within Konoha, but as Genma was very fond of saying, "Stranger things have happened." So they worked in pairs. Hayate reached up and tapped his radio, turning it off. He leaned up against a tree--a pine, he noticed absently--and coughed. The glob of mucus that had been impeding his breathing for the last five minutes and two coughing fits finally came loose. Hayate turned his head and spat it out.

"You'll probably scare the cat off," Iruka declared, perched in the first branches of the pine, some ten feet over Hayate's head. "And then we'll be stuck looking for it forever, and then if we don't finish the mission they might keep us at Genin forever, and then it'll be all your fault, though I guess I could plague Genma-_sensei_ for the rest of his life and that might be fun, so--"

"Iruka, shut up," Hayate sighed. Then he cocked his head, holding his breath and listening.

"You're no fun, I was only--"

"Shut up! I think I heard something." Hayate waited until Iruka fell silent, and listened again. The breeze shifted, whistling through the pine tree's needles. It was a welcome relief from the early July heat. It brought the smell of hot air, spicy pine needles, and some haunting sweet scent that was likely flowers. Faint on the edge of the breeze Hayate thought he heard a cat meowing.

"Iruka, reporting in," Iruka suddenly chirped. "Changing our search pattern, heading northwest."

Hayate, his radio off, did not hear the response Genma gave, but Iruka slid halfway down the tree and dropped the last five feet, landing in a deep crouch by Hayate. "Let's move! That was a cat, I'm pretty sure."

"Sounded like it." Hayate pushed away from the tree and followed Iruka down the packed-dirt path.

Iruka was anything but sedate: he was bouncing along on his toes. But at least he was doing it silently. Hayate shook his head and followed at a much slower pace. Iruka covered twice the ground Hayate did, but only because Iruka kept scooting ahead, dodging back, and circling around to start out by Hayate again. It was amusing, because Iruka did it all the time. Hayate merely shook his head and kept on with his slow amble. Any faster would make him breathe harder, and that would stress his throat and make him cough, which Hayate preferred to avoid.

The breeze was steady, and they were walking a path under the trees in the shade. The park was a pleasant place to be, especially in the summer. Iruka, as he bounced, occasionally paused and called for the cat. They could not hear any further cat-like noises, however.

They hadn't gone far when Hayate paused and coughed again. Iruka was conveniently nearby, and Hayate grabbed his friend's shoulder. Iruka was warm and rock-steady beneath his hand. Hayate hacked and spat, grimacing at the salty-slime taste of mucus.

"Oi, you hear that?" Iruka asked, cocking his head. Hayate felt the sturdy muscles in Iruka's shoulder flex and quiver under his palm.

The question did not need answering: Hayate was not deaf by any means. The calls of a cat, strident and distressed, were loud and indicated that the creature was nearby. Iruka was looking around on the ground level. Hayate, knowing cats, tilted his head back and scanned the trees. Motion drew his gaze to a tall oak tree, something stirring in the branches. Hayate tightened his grip on Iruka's shoulder and pointed with his free hand.

"It's a cat. Look up, _baka_," he chided, grinning.

"Oh. Well, let's go look!" Iruka bounded away, off the path and straight through a blooming azalea bush.

Hayate rolled his eyes and went around the bush. He reached up and tapped his little radio on again, the transmitter nested against his collarbone. "Hayate reporting in. Cat sighted, retrieval efforts not begun. Assessing situation." He glanced up from picking his way around a second bush in time to catch Iruka about to step onto the tree. "IRUKA! _Chotto matte_!"

The effort of shouting made him cough, and he almost missed Genma's annoyed reply, hissing with a little static in his ear. "Roger. Now turn your darn radio off so you don't deafen me, Hayate! Get Iruka to give me the co-ordinates, keep him busy for crying out loud."

"_Hai_, Genma-_sensei_," Hayate rasped. He tapped his radio off, and looked up at Iruka.

Iruka was standing by the tree, looking with great concern at Hayate. "Whaaaat?" he whined. "I was just gonna--"

"Genma_-sensei _wants our co-ordinates. Report in," Hayate rasped. He coughed again, just once, and that cleared his throat out. He spat into the nearest bush. As Iruka scowled and sulkily started looking around to pinpoint their precise location, Hayate stepped up to the tree and looked up, squinting in the dappled light. The cat in question was perched on a branch a good eighteen feet up, the very first branch on the oak.

It seemed like the cat they were looking for--tortoiseshell, short-haired, and wearing a blue collar. It looked oddly familiar. It was not until the cat looked down and started wailing loudly that Hayate realized why.

"Chuu? What are you doing up there?" Hayate demanded of the cat. He felt foolish immediately. The cat was not going to answer.

"Is that your cat?" Iruka demanded, hand still on his throat microphone. "I thought it looked familiar."

Hayate coughed. The cries increased in volume and demand. Hayate looked wryly at Iruka. "If not, it's her twin. But those are her markings." Indeed, the tortoiseshell had a golden mask across her green eyes, and the rest of her face was dusty black. She reached down and batted a white-tipped paw at them, caterwauling all the while.

Hayate shook his head, measured the distance, and started molding his _chakra_. He walked carefully up the tree. In the months they had been working on it, Hayate had improved in his tree-walking. It was easier to strike a balance between gravity and his _chakra_ every time he did it. He reached the branch easily enough, kneeling on the tree's trunk and reaching up with his hands. Chuu wailed more loudly and clung to the tree, but Hayate was used to cats. He pried her off and started back down the tree, cringing as the cat instantly sank all her claws into his skin.

"Hurray for Hayate!" Iruka declared, as Hayate set foot on level ground again.

As soon as they were properly upright, Chuu calmed down and started purring. She twisted and writhed in Hayate's hold until he let her move. She braced her front paws on his chest and instantly did her best to remove the skin on the end of his nose with her sandpaper tongue, giving him the kitty-kisses she was named for. "Chuu, stoppit," Hayate sighed.

"You wanna carry her back?" Iruka asked.

"Eh, she'll follow." Hayate set the cat down. Instantly, she twined herself around his ankles. "What about Genma-_sensei_ and Ayame?" He watched the cat, who took advantage of her ground-bound state to slink off to dig a little hole and relieve herself. She came right back and twisted around his ankles again, purring and chirping.

"We're meeting them by the mission desks!" Iruka reported, brightly. "And we shall return victorious! Are you sure you don't wanna carry her? Is she limping?"

"Her paw's fat, but she's fine," Hayate observed. At least, the swollen front paw had not bothered the cat when she had been sticking all eighteen claws into him. He "tsk"ed at the cat. "C'mon, Chuu, let's go." He started back towards the path. The cat followed, mewing cheerfully at him.

Iruka bounded right through the brush and obstacles in his path. His legs were going to be all scratched up, Hayate knew, because Iruka was wearing shorts. "_Oi_, isn't the cat supposed to answer to Tora? I think your cat's two-timing you, Haya_-kun_, you should get yourself out of this relationship immediately!" Iruka announced. "Because your cat's having an affair with the neighbors! It's a scandal!"

Hayate knew he should not laugh, because it would make him cough again. He laughed anyway.

* * *

The clients were surprised to see their cat curled complacently in Hayate's arms. Hayate was hard-put not to smile when Chuu turned from a purring cat-shaped noodle to a snarling cat-shaped demon the second the woman tried to hold her like Hayate had. Iruka recognized the cat's behavior as the same abuse she gave him, and laughed outright. Ayame elbowed him hard. She was not entertained. Genma just looked amused. Iruka's comments on extra-marital feline affairs had been transmitted through his throat microphone, and Genma thought the whole thing was absolutely hilarious.

Hayate had to admit there was a great deal of humor in the whole situation.

Especially when he got home and found both his aunt and the unfaithful cat waiting in the kitchen with supper.

* * *

**A/N:** Yay! Another update. Life has been kinda hurried and spazzy, y'know? So the update almost got put off until tomorrow, only that's when BD updates and that just wouldn't do.

Next chapter: the kids learn the values of trust and games with purpose.

Thanks to my amazing and fantastic reviewers: **InARealPickle**, **Ally Plz**, **anon**, **eggomilburnigan**, **Ryo Yuriko**, and **Ice Dragon3**!

Six reviews again! :O I am floored!

**Ikuzo** A rough way of saying "Let's go."

**Chotto matte** Wait a minute!

**Chuu** Not the jellies on Legend of Zelda! "Chuu" is the "kiss noise" used often in manga, this Hayate's cat is named for her kitty-kisses.


	13. Ch 12: Games of Trust

**A/N:** So sorry, this week's update is a day late! It's been a very lazy week. Sorry, all.

I don't own any character here but Sashimoto Ayame.

**It's an ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Games of Trust**

* * *

_July 21_

Ayame recognized the _genjutsu_ as soon as it hit: she immediately pressed her _chakra_ still and watched as the illusion shattered away...revealing a startled-looking Genma. Ayame leapt backwards with a surge of _chakra_, hands flicking _kunai_ through the air. Genma dodged, but took a hit on his shoulder. With a noise of a popped balloon, the clone vanished. Ayame spun on a heel, quickly taking in her surroundings. No further attack seemed imminent. She stooped to gather up her _kunai_. There was a rustle in the brush. Hands full of double-fists of _kunai_, she watched warily as Iruka and Hayate crept out of the trees. Hayate had his katana drawn. Iruka had a _kunai_ in one hand. They all examined one another carefully.

"No _genjutsu_," Iruka said, suddenly, straightening out of his fighting stance.

"Did he try to get you with clones, too?" Ayame queried. She relaxed as well and put one handful of _kunai_ away.

Hayate nodded and roughly cleared his throat.

"Okay, time to turn the tables!" Iruka declared. "Split up, or group search?"

"Last time we split up he got us too easy." Ayame sighed, exasperated by Iruka's poor memory. It was too hot to deal with his foolishness: July was here, and summer was in full force. "So I say group."

Iruka got a very stubborn look in his face, scowling. Ayame wanted to scream at him: she knew what was coming. "No, when we group-searched last time he ambushed us and split us up: he found us real fast 'cause we were all in one group. I don't think sticking together will get us anywhere."

"You're just saying that 'cause he got you last," Ayame snapped. She had been the first to go down, and it still stung. "I think we'll have more of a chance if we stick together."

"But we're too easily found when we're all in a group!" Iruka stamped his foot, and ugly scowl on his face. "Listen to me, will you? I've got an idea!"

"You watch your tone," Ayame snarled back. "You're not team leader."

"_Maa, maa_," Hayate murmured, hoarsely. "It's no good fighting." His voice caught and he cleared his throat noisily.

"I'm not fighting, if Ayame would just listen--"

Iruka got no further. All three Genin heard the soft rustle, and all three leaped backwards, but they did not move fast enough. Ayame shrieked aloud as the weighted net knocked them all off their feet and into a tangled pile. It was a wonder none of them were impaled in the various weapons in their hands. She heard a soft landing beside the net, and twisted around to see Genma standing there, looking wickedly pleased.

"While either splitting up or group searching were good ideas, standing around arguing was not," Genma informed them, smiling. The burr in his voice spoke of laughter, as did the sparkle in his honey-coloured eyes. "If Iruka and Ayame hadn't been shouting quite so loudly, any of you might have noticed my approach. I wasn't even trying to be very quiet."

Hayate's little sigh, somewhere behind Ayame, was a baleful reproach. Ayame flinched.

"Iruka was being difficult," she grumbled.

"You weren't listening," Iruka retorted. "Ow! Hayate!"

Genma snorted at them, and shifted the _senbon_ in his mouth from one side to the other. "And Hayate: if you think something's up, say something. Don't wait for your team-mates to pick up on it. I know I don't have to tell you three what would have happened had I been an enemy."

Chagrined, Ayame looked away. Some days it seemed she could never do anything right. But Iruka...oh! Iruka was so impossible! She would have said he knew nothing about team-work, only he worked superbly with Hayate. But that...well, Hayate worked well with whomever he was paired with, so maybe that was Hayate's doing. Yet Ayame could not quite make herself believe that: there was something about Hayate and Iruka's teamwork that was too in sync to be the efforts of only one person.

"It's been five months since we've started," Genma sighed, levering a foot under the edge of the net. "I am getting awful sick of your fighting. You're supposed to be a team. _Ninja_ who don't work as a team are dead _ninja_. I'm beginning to think it's impossible to get that through your heads! I know it can be hard to work with some people. I've run missions with guys I've wanted to just strangle."

"Like me?" Iruka queried, sounding mischievous. "You're always saying you wanna strangle me!"

Genma snapped his teeth together, making his _senbon_ ring a shrill note. "Exactly. As annoying as you. But my point is, when you run a mission, when you're on a team, it doesn't matter. You grit your teeth and you work with your partners, no matter how annoying they are. Otherwise you are dead, they are dead, and you've let everyone down. You've let the village down, and for what? A personal annoyance. You can't get much stupider than that, brats."

He kicked the edge of the net up. It soared over their heads and neatly folded in half, freeing them all three. Ayame sat up, brushed at the leaf-litter clinging to her, and sighed a little. Iruka rolled right to his feet and shook like a dog, shedding dirt and last-year's leaves in every direction. He was still filthy, despite that, with dirt ground into his clothes and bits of leaves in his hair. Ayame bet she looked just as dirty. Hayate was in the same state of uncleanliness, as he got to his feet and dusted himself off, after sheathing his _katana_.

Genma thrust his hands into his pants pockets, standing hipshot in front of them. Ayame marveled at how cool and relaxed he looked, even with the heavy-lidded gaze of disappointment on his face. "Tell me, brats, how in the world am I going to get this trough your heads? Any ideas? Because quite frankly, I'm out of them! Five months--five months--and you still can't complete some of the simplest stalk-and-search exercises because you're too busy fighting with each-other!"

The feeling of disappointment was a heavy weight, almost as heavy as the summer's heat. Ayame slumped a little, and stared down at the ground, covered in disturbed leaf-litter and dappled by sunlight. Genma shifted his weight, and snarled a sigh. Ayame looked up to find the young man running a frustrated hand over his head.

"I think," he said testily, "That that's enough for today. You're dismissed. We'll meet again tomor--no, that's Tuesday. We'll meet again on Wednesday, same time, since I never can get Iruka to behave and come on Tuesdays."

Ayame glanced at Iruka. Iruka looked stubbornly unrepentant. Beside him, Hayate looked resigned and very mournful.

The children left as they usually did: Hayate and Iruka together, Ayame trailing behind. She was surprised, however, to see Hayate and Iruka arguing. It was not a loud one: in fact, Hayate only said one or two things. Iruka was protesting quietly, gesturing madly. Hayate stopped walking and fixed his friend with a look. Iruka flinched. Ayame, still walking, came close enough to hear the tail end of the discussion.

"Ouch, Hayate, don't look at me like that! Don't! You...allright, fine. Just...fine. I'll ask, but don't expect anything more!" Iruka turned on his heel, and trotted up to Ayame. He looked at her with a very stubborn, unhappy frown, then abruptly bowed. "_Gomen_. I should have kept my temper. Will you come with me and Hayate to the river?"

Ayame blinked, taken aback. The two boys had never invited her anywhere, to play or train or anything. She looked down at Iruka's bristly ponytail, and found that yes, despite Iruka, she wanted to go. "Um, apology accepted. I'll go."

Iruka, when he straightened, still did not look very happy. But Hayate, standing there, smiled at them both.

* * *

"When you said the river, I thought you meant in the village," Ayame hissed.

"Nah!" Iruka waved to the visible guard on the wall, and wriggled through the hole. "We're not going far," his muffled voice said. He squeezed through the hole and vanished. From the other side of Konoha's grand wall, he said something that Ayame did not catch.

"We're still in sight of the walls," Hayate assured her, softly. It was less work for him to slither through the hole. He was smaller than Iruka.

Ayame took a deep breath, steeled herself, and bent over to follow the boys. The hole narrowed in the center--likely only small children like themselves could get through. She had a bad moment when she thought she was stuck, but she wriggled through eventually. She emerged on the other side of Konoha's wall, and blinked at the boys. They traded grins, and set off across the sunlit grassy sward between Konoha's walls and the great forest. Ayame followed, feeling less and less certain. It was true, the river was only a few paces to the side, but she had never been outside Konoha proper. And now, as she followed Hayate and Iruka past the first giant tree, she felt very small and vulnerable.

The boys were joking and laughing, though, and they did not go far at all. In fact, they stopped at the river bank only two trees into the forest. Ayame could still see the visible guard on the wall. She was certain he could still see them. She looked around. The forest stretched deeper, sun-dappled shade deepening into twilight the farther she looked. The shade was cool, and the damp from the river made it a veritable paradise in the summer heat. The banks of the river here were steep, a sheer drop-off of about four or five feet. Right where they had stopped, however, a shallow landing and steep path of sorts could be followed right down to the water. Iruka sat down and took off his sandals. He headed off down the narrow path to the water, slipping and sliding.

Hayate, meanwhile was shrugging off the harness for his sword, and also removing his _kunai_ holster. He set them down beside Iruka's sandals, and took off his own. He smiled softly at Ayame. "C'mon," he told her, as he padded barefoot to the edge of the bank's drop-off. He peered over it. Nervously, Ayame followed and looked down.

Iruka, standing barefoot on the water's surface, waved up at them. "Ready when you are, Haya_-kun_!" he shouted.

Hayate did not shout, merely nodded. He turned around and put his back to the bank. He met Ayame's puzzled look with a smile as he crossed his wrists over his chest, a hand on either shoulder. "You remember what Hiko-_sensei_ used to make us do, right? The falling exercises, where you caught someone?"

"Yeeesss...but you...you aren't gonna!" Ayame shrieked, realizing exactly what Hayate was going to do.

Hayate grinned at her, crooked and laughing, shut his eyes, and tipped himself backwards off the bank.

Ayame lunged to catch him, missed, and only just kept from tumping herself off the bank. She stared down at the river. There had been only a little splash, and she realized why as she looked. Iruka had caught Hayate, arms locked around the other boy's chest. Only Hayate's feet were in the water, his jeans wet halfway up his calves. Hayate smiled up at her, arms still crossed over his chest, perfectly at his ease. Iruka was laughing, and steadied Hayate as the slender boy regained his feet.

"It's hard the first time," Hayate called up, his voice rasping thin. "But it gets easier."

He stepped away from Iruka, walking with careful bare feet across the river's surface. Iruka looked up at her, laughed, and spread his arms. "C'mon, it's your turn!" he told her. "The rules are you can't catch yourself and you gotta shut your eyes. I'll catch you, I promise!"

"You are crazy!" Ayame shouted down at him. "Both of you!"

But Hayate was already climbing the bank, and coming to stand beside her again. "Like I said, the first time's hard." He smiled quietly at her. "But I know Iruka won't drop me. And he won't drop you, either. He's like that: just give him a chance. He'll catch you."

"But I..." Ayame looked at the drop-off and swallowed. The idea of just letting herself fall off that edge made her stomach twist and knot. "I..."

"Told ya she wouldn't!" Iruka suddenly jeered. "She's too scaredy-cat!

"I am not!" Ayame shrieked in reflex, and then realized that now she had to. She swallowed hard again. "I mean...I..."

"Take your _kunai_ and sandals off," Hayate told her cheerfully. "And then you can play."

He was smiling at her, soft and sweet, and he spoke like he believed she would do it. Ayame bit her lip, but felt she could not back down under that gentle gaze. So instead, she reached for her weapons pouches. Her hands were shaking a little, and she told herself it was silly. Finally, barefoot and without a weapon, she stood at the edge of the bank and stared down. Iruka looked up at her with a wicked grin.

"Now just turn around and cross your arms like I did. Oh, and you gotta shut your eyes, that's the rules," Hayate told her.

Ayame turned around, feeling the edge of the bank far too close to her heels, and acutely aware of the depth of the drop-off. "I don't think I..." she began, as she crossed her wrists over her chest.

"Nonsense," Hayate said cheerfully. " 'Course you can!"

And he pushed her off.

Ayame only just had time to start her shriek and her efforts to catch herself before she hit. Iruka was heavy, solid and warm as his arms closed around her. Her bare feet hit the water so hard they stung and her back hit Iruka's chest so hard she felt the breath huff out of both of them. And then Iruka was laughing in her ear, loud and carefree as was his way.

"Told ya I would catch ya," he said, brightly.

Ayame slumped against him, fingertips tingling from the adrenaline rush. "I think I'm going to kill you both," she declared. "That was dirty."

Hayate was right, though. The first time was hard, but it got easier after that.

* * *

**A/N:** OKAY! If ya'll've stuck around this long, congrats. Things will start picking up after this, I promise. This story starts out fairly slow, which is fine for introducing people, but not so good for reading. I had a big chunk of writer's block, but I'm working away at Team 13 as I post this. Have no fear, I shan't abandon them!

Five reviews! Yay! Thanks to the faithful reviewers: **umino-gaara**, **InARealPickle**, **Ally Plz**, **eggomilburnigan**, and **Ice Dragon3**!

Team 13 has been put in another C2. May I ask whoever did to stand up and tell me? I just like to keep track of these things.

Next chapter: Genma discovers just how bad Iruka can be. And he gets some helpful advice from the oft-mentioned Hiko-_sensei_! We meet more Uchiha!

Some very uneven statistics for you: **Thirteen** people have this story on their alert list. Of those **thirteen**, only **four** review regularly. I'm bad at math, I admit, but those seem like some pretty sorry odds.

C'mon, people, tell me why you like this story. Give me critiscim! Tell me what parts you don't like, and why. Look for my slip-ups, because I can't catch them all! Help me improve, so I can make this story all it can be. I can't do it without ya'll's help!


	14. Ch 13: Legal Hassles

**A/N:** Good news! BD will be updated tomorrow! Yay! Things are beginning to come to a climax over there, so be sure to go read!

I own Uchiha Kaika and Fuji Hiko, and Hayate's aunt, but none of the characters from Naruto.

I ask in advance that you will bear with my extremely sketchy knowledge and subsequent fabrication of legal processes in Konoha.

**It's an ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Legal Hassles**

* * *

_July 23_

Genma was woken up Wednesday by a very loud knocking on his door. He shook himself awake, and struggled to get off the couch: the book he had fallen asleep reading tumbled off his chest. "Coming!" he shouted at the door, stretching as he got to his feet. He was painfully stiff, and swore once again to never sleep on his couch. He limped to the door--his recently healed knee was still a bit stiff in the mornings. Rumpled, sleepy, but with a handful of _senbon_ at the ready, he opened his door a crack and peered out.

He had not been expecting two of Konoha's finest policemen, both Uchiha. In fact, the one in the front was the Chief of Police, Uchiha Fugaku, and he looked distinctly displeased. But then, he always looked displeased. He looked down his fine, narrow nose at Genma.

"Shiranui Genma?" he asked.

"Um, yes," Genma answered, blinking at them and wondering what he had done to deserve the police on his doorstep.

"You need to come with us down to the station," Fugaku told him. "As Umino Iruka's Jounin mentor, you're responsible for him. You'll need to post bail and make sure he shows up for the trial next week."

"_Nani?!_" Genma stared at them, his mouth hanging open in shock. "What--what did--"

"Oh, it's not so bad," the younger officer said calmly. "But it is his third charge of public indecency."

"This...this isn't some kind of joke, is it?" Genma asked feebly, hoping.

He had the privilege of seeing the stern Fugaku roll his eyes. "If only it were," the man sighed. "I'll debrief you as we go. Are you ready?"

"_Ano, chotto_." Genma thrust his _senbon_ into the case at his hip and hobbled hastily back to the couch, retrieving his flack vest and _hitai-ate_. He shrugged on his vest and hastily finger-combed his hair before tying his headband on. He returned to the door, feeling somewhat dazed. He hoped this was all a dream. "I'm ready," he told the two policemen.

Fugaku nodded and waited for Genma to lock his door before he started talking. "Umino has quite a record with us. He's one of those prone to mischief. It's mostly harmless charges: defacement of public property, misleading evidence, a charge of petty arson... Normal juvenile behavior. He's got an impressive arrest record for one so young. We've seen a recent decrease in his activities in the past few weeks, at least until now."

Genma trailed after the policemen, feeling stunned and disbelieving. The trio left Genma's apartment complex and headed down the street. It was fairly early in the morning, and the streets were still quiet. What people there were gave Genma either sympathetic or disgusted looks, and a wide berth to the officers either way.

"Even though he's underage, this is his third charge of public indecency, and we will need to hold a trial. I am not keeping him in my jail, I do not have the manpower to spare to watch that little terror. Our cells are not meant to hold anyone under sixteen. He just squeezes between the bars and leaves by the supply closet window unless I leave a constant watch on him. And that is not feasible. So I will turn him over to you, and you will make sure he shows up on time to the trial."

Genma was not sure what he could say in response to that. But something seemed required. "I'll do my best," he answered, feebly.

The younger policeman laughed a little. "First time, huh? I'm surprised you weren't debriefed by Hiko-_sensei_. This was his duty, now it's yours."

"Iruka does this often?" Genma managed, as they turned down Fushima Street to the police station.

"He's stood trial twice before, if that's what you mean," Fugaku answered. "Found not guilty both times. I doubt he'll get any sentence this time, either. But if I can weasel out if he really was the one that switched the street signs last week..."

"I think, sir, that was a copycat crime," the younger officer chirped. "It had none of Umino's, um, creativity."

Fugaku shook his head, and kept on down the street.

"Ah! Genma-_sensei_!"

It was Hayate's voice, breathless and raspy. Genma hesitated and looked. The boy was with his aunt: both were carrying baskets loaded with jars of honey. Hayate's dark gaze darted from his young teacher to the policemen and back. He turned and swiftly said something to his aunt, and handed his basket over to her. Then he darted up to Genma's side, all wide brown eyes in his pale little face.

"Genma-_sensei_, is it Iruka?" Hayate asked. "Oh, Fugaku-_sama_, Hiro_-san_, _ohayou gozaimasu_."

"Gekkou_-kun_." Fugaku nodded to the boy, while Hiro, the younger officer, grinned and returned the greeting. "It is your friend. You may come with us to keep up with him while we walk your mentor through the process."

"_Arigatou_." Hayate bobbed a little bow, and looked up at Genma. "If it's okay with you."

Genma shook his head. "It's fine with me."

The four resumed the walk to the police station, Hayate trotting along at Genma's elbow. The boy was not wearing his _hitai-ate_, and his dark hair was curling madly in the humid summer morning. Genma suspected the boy had been helping his aunt with selling the honey she made: Hayate's aunt kept bees. This was likely a good enough reason to skip out of sitting in the market stall selling honey. But then, Hayate's concern seemed genuine, given the way the boy was frowning. Genma shook his head over the whole bizarre situation and desperately wished for some breakfast. He was starving.

Inside the police station it was cool, a relief from the summer's heat, even as early in the day as it was. Genma and Hayate were led past the reception room, and down into hall. Fugaku did not take them past the offices and interrogation rooms, but instead lead them to a staircase and down a single level. It was even cooler down here, enough to raise chill-bumps on Genma's skin. The cell level was well lit and neat, with pale tiled floors and whitewashed walls. Their footsteps echoed on the tile, which unnerved Genma, for he was a _shinobi_ of no little experience. His footsteps should have been utterly silent.

They only went past a few cells before they came to one where an Uchiha was standing guard. He looked quite young, probably only Genma's age, around nineteen or twenty. He smiled brightly at them all. "Oh! Hayate_-kun_! Did they pass you in the market?"

"Eh? Hayate?" came Iruka's voice. Brown slender hands hit the bars, and with a bit of struggle, Iruka thrust his head between them. "Oh! Hayate! _Ohayou_! And Genma_-sensei_! I guess I gave pretty good directions, huh, Fugaku_-sama_?"

"No. His address was on file, Umino." Fugaku sighed. "Kaika, let him out."

"Don't bother!" With a quick wriggle and a sideways slink, Iruka promptly squeezed himself between the bars of the cell. Genma blinked--he honestly had not thought that Iruka would have fit through the narrow opening. "Ta-da! Here I am!" Iruka launched himself over and very nearly tackled Hayate down.

Hayate yelped and staggered but hugged Iruka back. "What did you do now?" he wheezed.

"Public indecency." Iruka stepped back and gestured broadly to himself. "Kaika-_san_ had to lend me some of his pants. They're way too big, but it can't be helped. And it wasn't my fault. I mean, what was I supposed to do, let the old lady beat me to death with her purse? She had a brick in that thing, too, you should see my back, it's all blue and purple!"

The pants were indeed too large, rolled up thickly at the cuffs and tied up with a strand of thin rope--trap-rope, Genma decided. Iruka's tank-top was white today, and worn thin--Genma could see the faint shadows of bruising across Iruka's sturdy back. But Iruka seemed cheerful enough, babbling away at Hayate with his usual verve. Hayate looked faintly amused, but mostly mournful. Until Iruka reached over and ruffled his hair: Hayate instantly scowled, snatched away, and lunged back with a text-book-perfect low punch to Iruka's gut. Iruka doubled over with a huff.

Fugaku cleared his throat. "No brawling, please," he said, stiffly. "If you'll come with us, we need to walk Shiranui through the process of posting bail for you, Umino."

"_Eeto_, Fugaku-_sama_," Hayate piped up. "Today's market-day, I can take Iruka with me to Hachiko_-obasan_, and we'll keep him out of trouble while Genma-_sensei_ does the paperwork. He can find us when he's done."

"Very well. Kaika will go with you to prevent anything from happening." Fugaku nodded to Kaika, who grinned back and started herding the boys out. Fugaku turned to Genma. "Come along. Hiro, you're dismissed."

* * *

Genma walked out of the police-station an hour later, completely starving and mostly broke. The secretary had been very sympathetic with him when he had seen exactly how much it was going to cost to bail Iruka out of jail.

"Don't worry," she had told him confidentially, "When the Hokage gets the notice he'll reimburse you."

Though that remained to be seen, Genma was now mostly broke, very hungry, very stressed, and perfectly ready to strangle Iruka the next time he laid eyes on the brat. He had been given a copy of Iruka's criminal record, by his request, and had been perfectly appalled. Iruka was far more creative, mischievous, and downright wicked than Genma had ever thought a child could be.

"Ah. You've got that 'I-will-strangle-the-Iruka-brat' look on your face," rumbled a deep voice.

Genma whirled and looked up. The tall, muscled man looked familiar. After a blink, Genma placed him as the Academy teacher who had given him the impossible Genin team. Try as he might, Genma could not recall the man's name.

"Fuji Hiko," the man said. "And you're Shiranui, _ne_?"

"_Aa_." Genma blinked again, and winced as his stomach growled.

Hiko smiled wryly. "Hungry and broke, no doubt. Come along, I'll buy you breakfast. We need to talk about Iruka." He turned, long black ponytail swishing, and marched off without so much as glancing back to see if Genma was following. Which he was--he was not about to pass up the offer of free food. "I should have got around to you before this, but as soon as I graduated that hell-brat, they dumped a load of brand-new kiddies on me. And five of them want to be like Iruka. Too bad for them they're all stupider than he ever was."

Hell-brat was, Genma thought darkly, an appropriate moniker for Iruka. "Um, I think Fugaku-_sama_ said you had taken charge of Iruka before this?"

"Oh yes. Unfortunately." Hiko cast him a dark-eyed glance over a shoulder. "Now I will happily pass that duty on to you."

The large man turned down a street lined with restaurants. Genma raised an eyebrow. The places to eat here on Moshi Avenue were often expensive. Hiko made a beeline through the crowds for Daisuke's, a pretty high-end restaurant that catered exclusively to _ninja_. Gleeful now, Genma followed. They were seated quickly, and it was obvious Hiko was a frequent customer: the cheerful waitress asked him if he wanted the usual, and then provided Genma with the menu. She was quite cute, and the uniforms here had a nice short skirt. Genma watched her leave with great appreciation.

"They throw you out if you bother the servers," Hiko intoned.

Genma snorted. "I wasn't bothering. Anyway, about Iruka...?"

Hiko raised a single eyebrow at him, face impassive. It was a very intimidating expression. "He's very intelligent, easily bored, can't sit still, and needs to be checked on weekly to make sure he has food in his house and has remembered to eat." Hiko paused, then continued. "Tends towards destructive in his mischief. Do not allow him exploding tags for anything but missions. Let Hayate handle him when he sulks, Hayate's good for that. And do not expect anything out of him on Tuesdays. I think that's it. Oh, no, sorry: under no circumstances, not even emergencies, should Iruka be allowed anywhere near glue."

"Why Tuesdays?" Genma asked, barely noticing as the cute waitress returned with their coffee. "What is up with Tuesdays? He won't tell me, Hayate won't tell me, and Ayame knows nothing more than I do."

"Tuesdays are important to Iruka." Hiko picked up a packet of sugar, and slowly opened it. He poured it into his steaming mug. "You are aware that Iruka's parents died in the Kyuubi attack, yes?"

Genma winced at the open reference to the disaster. It was something most people did not discuss--two years past was not long enough to heal the wounds that had been made.

Hiko ignored it and went on, stirring his coffee with a pair of chopsticks he did not bother to break apart. "Iruka was quite depressed afterwards, and his behavior--already bad--took a turn towards ugly. He was very destructive, and injured several of his classmates. I'm sure you saw the attempted murder charge on his arrest record--that was Jaken, who later had to drop out of the Academy."

"A classmate? I thought...I thought it was a mis-print." Genma reached for his coffee absently, and burned his tongue on the first sip. He winced, distracted from his shock. "Attempted murder?" he repeated.

"A prank gone badly, I think. I don't like to believe Iruka meant to deliberately stop his heart." Hiko shook his head. "He's a brat and rude and rebellious, but he is a kind boy. His parent's death hurt him badly, made him very lonely. After he and Hayate became better friends, though, his behavior and attitude improved. But Tuesdays are very important--those are the days he remembers his parents. You can always find him at the October Memorial, but I don't suggest bothering him."

"I did that once." Genma shook his head. "I won't be doing it again."

"You seem a sharp one, Shiranui." Hiko smirked at him. "Take care of Iruka. Be careful--the brat grows on you."

Their breakfast arrived, and they settled down to eat.

* * *

**A/N:** The plot thickens! Iruka is a troublemaker... And Genma gets fed. At last. Once again, please excuse my completely fictional legal processes.

Next chapter! THINGS HAPPEN! The teams gets their first C-rank mission, and get to see the outside world! Look for a familiar face!

SIX REVIEWS! An outstanding thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! Ya'll are awesome! **Ghostboy814**, **Ally Plz**, **D Redd Coyote**, **Ice Dragon3**, **InARealPickle**, and **Ryo Yuriko**!

**Chotto** Wait, hold on, a short version of **chotto matte**

**Ohayou gozaimasu** Good morning, the full and formally polite version

**Arigatou** Thanks, short version of **arigatou gozaimasu**


	15. Ch 14: Out and About

**A/N:** I thought today was Thursday. o.o I spent all day yesterday thinking it was _Wednesday_. Argh. I obviously need to go back to school so I can get my days straight again.

Spot the random characters! I own none of the official Naruto characters.

**It's ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Out and About**

* * *

_July 31_

When they arrived at the missions desk, two days after Iruka's trial--he had been found not guilty--Genma and his Genin found a special notice waiting for them. The Chuunin at the desk, Uchiha Katsura, handed over the scroll and note with a wide grin.

"Fugaku-_sama_ said to give this to you," Katsura reported, smiling. "It's approved by the Hokage, too. Enjoy, Genma."

Genma gave him a wary look and took the scroll.

Iruka grinned at the glare Ayame gave him. She thought they were in trouble. They probably were, Iruka thought, grin widening. Beside him, Hayate sighed lightly. They crowded around Genma as he broke the seal and scanned the scroll's contents. Iruka watched as the young man's honey-pale eyes widened, and the senbon in his mouth rang a shrill note when he clamped his teeth on it. Genma glanced up at them--his expression turned wry--and went back to the scroll and the note.

"Genma-_sensei_, _nani desu ka_?" Ayame begged.

"We," Genma told her, "have a very special mission. We will be going out to the East-post of the Home Patrols, escorting the pair of Chuunin who have a mission there. And we will be escorting them back. C-rank, and we're expected to be away for at least three days. We leave this afternoon, from the Ryuu Gates. And please, pack light." Genma grinned wryly at them. "Ask important questions now, and then I'll dismiss you."

He passed the scroll around to them. Iruka caught a glimpse of the note that had accompanied the scroll. It appeared to read something along the lines of a not-so-polite-demand to get Iruka out of the city, signed with the Uchiha chop and Fukagu's own hand.

Iruka grinned. Well, he had brought about this chance for excitement. Ayame looked apprehensive, and asked several questions about sleeping arrangements and food and travel. Hayate looked mournful--but Hayate always looked mournful when he was not smiling--and listened intently to the debate between Genma and Ayame. Iruka was excited, and could not help but grin. They were going to leave the village.

* * *

At precisely two in the afternoon, Iruka trotted up to the eastern Ryuu Gates. These were the smaller set of gates, more south-east than due east. He spotted Genma and Hayate right away, along with two _ninja_ he did not recognize. There was no sign of Ayame. Iruka rolled his eyes at her predictability and made his way through the traffic to join the others. Genma was being harangued by one of the Chuunin--they looked to be roughly the same age.

"And they gave you kids? _Che_, Genma, didn't know they hated you so much." The Chuunin had dark eyes and wore his _hitai-ate_ like a bandanna, covering his hair. A short spear was balanced across his broad shoulders. "You must have ticked off someone pretty high up for you to get assigned to us!"

"Shut it, Ibiki," Genma snarled, low and with a hint of teeth.

Ibiki laughed, and it was a brash, taunting sound.

The other Chuunin, a female Hyuuga, sighed and seemed to glare idly at the bickering two. Iruka sidled through the last of the crowd and tugged on the strings of Hayate's pack before he stood beside his friend. Hayate absently kicked him in the shin. Iruka pinched him on the arm and waited for Genma to notice he was there. It wasn't likely to be soon--Genma and Ibiki were covertly sniping at each other verbally. Hayate jumped and pinched Iruka back with a glare. Iruka made a horrible face in return and elbowed him in the ribs. Hayate sidestepped a little and kicked him again, harder.

The Hyuuga was watching them, Iruka noticed. She looked amused. Iruka stuck his tongue out at her before he could think better of the impulse and tugged on Hayate's curls.

Unfortunately, that put him close enough for Hayate to snap an elbow right into his gut. Iruka doubled over with a grunt. Hayate gave him a baleful look. Iruka stuck his tongue out. Hayate snapped a hand out and very nearly caught Iruka's tongue. Iruka only just managed to retract it in time--Hayate's fingers stung the end.

Hayate's hand tasted like salt. Iruka made horrible faces at him without sticking his tongue out. Hayate rolled his eyes and kicked Iruka in the ankle. Iruka only just smothered his yelp and hopped. That was going to bruise. He hissed a very, very rude phrase at Hayate, who looked at him demurely.

The Hyuuga was pressing her lips together, apparently to keep a smile in.

Ayame came charging through the crowds, helter-skelter as was her way. She skidded to a halt beside Genma, out of breath and three minutes late. "_Gomen_, Genma-_sensei_! I'm sorry I'm late!"

"At least you're here," Genma told her, not unkindly. He cut a glare at Ibiki briefly before turning back to the girl. "Now, I think we're just waiting--Iruka? When did you get here?"

Iruka grinned, delighted at the briefly startled expression his teacher wore. "Three minutes ago!" he reported, briskly. "You weren't paying attention!"

"No, he wasn't," Ibiki agreed, tone only just this side of contemptuous. "It's a wonder he ever made Tokubetsu Jounin."

Genma, facing his Genin instead of Ibiki, let his face twist up into a very ugly snarl. It was only there a moment, before his features smoothed out into a calm blank expression, but that moment was long enough for Iruka to grasp some quick insights into their young teacher. Ibiki was antagonizing Genma with a real smile, and his body-posture was very good-natured.

But Genma was seething beneath his quiet front, and having let his mask slip Iruka could now pick up on the stiffness in his motions and the restraint in his voice. Genma picked on his students often enough, prodding them verbally to needle them into understanding or team-work. But he was apparently the sort of person who could not--or would not--stand to be picked on himself.

"Now that we're all here..." Genma turned to the two Chuunin. "Morino Ibiki, Hyuuga Hanasha, these are my Genin. Gekkou Hayate, Sashimoto Ayame, Umino Iruka. And now we are ready to leave."

"Umino Iruka?" Ibiki asked. "I've heard of you, bratling. Genma, you've really been ticking off your higher-ups, haven't you?" Ibiki laughed, loud and brash.

"More likely we have if they've been assigned to us," Hanasha said, speaking for the first time. "Shut your fat mouth, Ibiki, and let's go." She hefted her pack and kicked at Ibiki, who did a very nimble little dance to save his ankles. She tossed a wink over her shoulder at Genma and his Genin. Iruka smiled back. He might could like this Hyuuga.

* * *

Hanasha took point, and Ibiki flanked her. Iruka, Hayate, and Ayame ran single file behind them, and Genma was rear-guard.

Iruka suspected that Genma had done that to put as much distance between himself and Ibiki. Iruka wanted to say as much to Hayate, but the Genin had been expressly ordered to be silent. This was a routine run between the home-border and village, and they had only just left Konoha, but every mission was to be treated like a life-or-death matter. Iruka recognized the intent from recalling Genma's instructions during their training and D-rank missions.

He supposed it had a point, but he was really, really tired of being quiet. He contemplated scout-sign, but he would not be able to see Hayate's answer unless he dropped back, and then he would get into trouble for breaking formation. Iruka sighed as he landed on a branch and kicked off again.

They were running through the trees, the ideal way to travel in Konoha. Though the forest was so thick--and the trees so large--that there was no underbrush on the ground, the deep leaf mould and dirt would still hold tracks. It was easier to conceal tracks up in the trees, as bark was less likely to hold an impression. Lichens and moss would, but healthy bark rarely retained any marks at all when _ninja_ passed over it. Dead bark and trees, on the other hand...

Live trees gently attracted _chakra_. Dead trees gently repelled it. All the Genin had made occasional stumbles as they ran, for not every tree they traversed was alive.

Iruka, who had a particularly hard time with trees and sticking to them, watched his footing very carefully. He knew how to stick to trees, but knowing and doing were two different things. He wanted to let his _chakra_ fluctuate, flow and ripple like water. But trees required a steady flow, and dead trees required a very forceful application to stick to. Iruka scowled and bounced off a thick branch.

Ahead of him, Hanasha and Ibiki's footsteps sounded differently, warning of a dead branch ahead. Iruka worked his _chakra_ flow and landed on the dead pine branch with comparative ease. His feet slid a little. He flowed into a crouch with the landing and pushed out of it to take off.

With a sharp snap, his feet went right out from under him. Instinct kicked in faster than thought, and he spun _chakra_ through his hands before he realized that he was falling. The dead bark clattered around his face and he shut his eyes. One of his hands hit a branch, a glancing blow that scraped his palm. The sudden jerk lent enough twist to his fall that he could arch around like a cat, aligning feet and hands downward. He stared down at the approaching branches and ground and a thought flitted through his head.

_"This will probably hurt. A lot."_

There were too many smaller branches for him to land. They would slow his fall but not stop it. Iruka snatched his arms up to cover his face as he hit. The dead branches shattered under his weight, and Iruka tumbled right through them. He was going to have scratches all over, he thought...

Then something hit his head with a resounding crack, and Iruka knew no more.

* * *

**A/N:** CLIFF-HANGER! I promise not to be late next week! I swear! And next week, things happen! Can't say more than that, sorry.

**SEVEN **REVIEWS!! I am flabbergasted! A grand thanks to all who reviewed last chapter! Let's hear it for: **InARealPickle**, **Evil Kasumi**, **Ally Plz**, **Rebelgirl666**, **Ghostboy814**, **terracannon876**, and **Ryo Yuriko**!


	16. Ch 15: Here When You're Gone

**A/N:** The cliffhanger is absolved! ...mostly.

Chapter title taken from the Goo Goo Doll's song "We'll Be Here."

_"And we'll be standing when you're gone  
And we'll be heard again  
We missed our chance but not for long  
I know somehow we will hold on  
We'll be here when you're gone"_

I own only Sashimoto Ayame and Hyuuga Hanasha.

**It's an ****AU****, folks!**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Here When You're Gone**

* * *

_July 31-August 1_

Hayate caught the fall in perfect detail. The bark beneath Iruka's feet gave way, and Iruka's planned leap turned into a freefall. Iruka flailed, glanced off a larger branch, turned himself rightside up, and crashed through a web of smaller branches. His fall turned into a tumble, and he flailed again before his head cracked against a branch with a solid sound that threw Hayate's heart straight into his mouth. Iruka went limp instantly after the hit.

Hayate snapped to a halt on the live tree and shouted. He winced as something large brushed past him. Genma, he realized, and watched with his heart in his mouth as the young man took a reckless dive and rebounded dangerously off a lower branch, snatching Iruka out of the air. He had to go two more branches before he stopped, he was going so fast. Hayate pushed off his tree and followed, instinct guiding his feet while the rest of his brain merrily panicked.

_"Iruka, Iruka, oh please don't be dead!"_ he thought, gasping for breath as he scrambled to Genma's side. He was faintly aware of Ayame landing beside him, and the two Chuunin coming back. But all Hayate's attention was fixed on Iruka, cradled limp and still in Genma's arms.

Genma was swearing a blue streak through the air and rapidly shifting his hold on the boy. Hayate's heart clenched as he saw a dark stain on Genma's flak vest that matched the bright sheen growing on Iruka's lower arm. Genma quickly closed both hands over the ragged gash, but blood still seeped between his fingers. He was getting pretty creative with his expletives.

Iruka groaned, proving he was still alive, and stirred in Genma's hold. Relief hit Hayate in the chest like a physical blow--he let out a breath he had not realized he was holding. Iruka blinked his eyes open, and stared up at Genma with a puzzled ultramarine stare. "Wha-?" he slurred.

"Iruka," Hayate managed, voice raspy and distorted from the run and the relief and the terrible urge to cough.

"Haya?"

"Don't move," Genma gritted out. "You hit your head. What's your name and where are you?"

Iruka blinked at him. "Iruka. 'M outside of Konoha. Mission. 'N you're Genma_-sensei_. 'N it's Wednesday. Did I fall?"

Genma swore an affirmative answer at him.

Iruka blinked. " 'Kay. Why're you glowing?"

"Do what?" Genma looked alarmed. Then he glanced back at Iruka's arm. "I can't get this stopped. You must've hit a vein. I think I can make it back to Konoha in ten minutes, you shouldn't bleed out before then. Ibiki, Hanasha, you ca--_oi_, watch out, catch her!"

Alarmed, Hayate turned in time to see Ayame tipping off the branch. Fortunately, Hanasha was close enough to grab her before she fell. Ayame was limp and boneless, recalling Iruka before he had regained consciousness. "What's wrong with her?" he managed, trying hard not to cough.

"Fainted," Hanasha answered shortly. "_Hayaku_, Genma. We'll get your other two back."

Genma nodded. He shifted his hold on Iruka, stood, and flashed away.

Hayate's breath, strained by the run and the sudden panic and the powerful relief, hung violently in his throat and he burst out coughing. It was a hard fit, long enough to make him dizzy, and it burned an ache down his throat before it was over. A great gob of mucus came loose. He spat off the branch and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. His breath drew raw along his throat.

"Not dying, I hope," Ibiki commented. Hayate shook his head, concentrated on slowing his breathing.

"Well. That sounded nasty." Hanasha shifted Ayame, still passed out, and put the girl in a cradle-hold. "I'm off. Ibiki, take your time with that one."

And then she was gone, leaving Hayate and Ibiki alone on the branch. There were still thick drops of blood on the bark, catching the sunshine--Iruka's blood. The drops seemed jewel-bright, obscenely bright, beautiful and sickening. Hayate swallowed hard, and looked up at Ibiki. "Do...d'you think he'll be allright?" he asked, feeling very small and frightened.

"Your team-mate? Yeah, he'll be fine." Ibiki grinned. "Come on, bratling, let's get you home."

* * *

Hayate sat beside Iruka's hospital bed and breathed. The nurses had not liked the rattle of his breathing today, and one of them had calmly hooked up an oxygen mask and given it to him. Hayate honestly did not need it, but it certainly made breathing easier. He ignored the little elastic strap on the mask and just held it in one hand. It made him feel less sleepy, less tired, and so he kept it, even though he really could breathe without it.

Iruka was sleeping. He had gotten many stitches in his left arm--about thirty--and had a mild concussion. He had needed a blood transfusion, too. But he was only asleep, because the pain medications made him sleepy--so he had told Hayate yesterday, right after he had gotten the stitches. Hayate sighed a little.

The door opened. Hayate looked up as Genma came in. The young man was out of uniform, and for a moment Hayate did not recognize him. Then the feline grace and pale honey-coloured eyes registered, and Hayate smiled a little at his teacher. Genma paused, and offered a small smile back. Hayate thought, as his teacher crossed the room to stand beside Iruka's bed, that the young man looked much younger out of uniform.

"Still napping?" Genma asked, voice low and quiet.

Hayate nodded, but his agreement was contradicted by Iruka himself. " 'M 'wake," he slurred, yawning. "Hey, Hayate, Genma_-sensei_." He smiled at them, sleepy and gentle.

"Hey yourself." Hayate set the oxygen mask in his lap to talk. His heart warmed at the sound of Iruka's voice and the sight of his smile. "Sure you're awake?"

"Yeah." Iruka wriggled a little, scooting higher in the bed. "What day is it?"

"Thursday, lucky brat," Genma answered. He sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed. "I have news that neither of you are going to like." He reached up and tugged off the black bandanna that he was wearing, instead of his _hitai-ate_. His hair was to his shoulders, faded brown in the afternoon light. He dropped the bandanna into his lap and combed his slender hands through his hair.

"Don't keep us waiting." Iruka wiggled, and reached up with his good hand to poke at the flat pillow. "You know you're still glowing? Hayate is, too."

Genma and Hayate exchanged bewildered looks. "That's what you said yesterday," Hayate offered, worry tapping at his mind. "Glowing how?"

"Just...kinda glowing. It's like, hazy." Iruka shrugged. "Genma's all green and bright, like new leaves. And you're kinda faded blue, really pale. Like ice!"

"Ice isn't blue."

"Is too, y'know, like when the river iced over last year. Really pale and light." Iruka shrugged. "I'm just sayin' what it is. Some of the nurses glow, too, but not all of them. The ones that don't still have the funny hazy blur, though, and it's all in colours." He yawned again. " 'Nyway, what bad news d'you got?"

Hayate had forgotten, distracted by the puzzle of Iruka's vision problems. Now, he felt a nibbling of alarm and doubt as he looked at their young teacher. Genma looked oddly subdued--usually there was a sort of teasing liveliness to him. It generally clashed with Iruka's perky personality. With both of them acting so tranquil, the room felt dimmed and grey, though the early afternoon sunshine was beaming brightly on the floor.

"Well, it turns out that Ayame is hemephobic." Genma smiled wryly. "How she got through the Academy without learning that I'll never know. Anyway, since being afraid of blood is not a trait we want in _ninja_, she's not going to be on our team anymore."

"_Matte_. If there aren't three of us, can we still be a team?" Iruka blurted.

"Since you've graduated, yes, we technically could. It'd be difficult, though. There's a reason for three-man teams." Genma ran his hands through his hair again. "The Hokage's handling this personally, and so are several of the Academy teachers. There's a chance they'll be able to graduate a student early and put them on our team. It's still really unofficial, though, and the chances are pretty slim."

Hayate swallowed. It felt like his hopes of being a _ninja_ were balanced on the edge of a precipice. He was uncertain how they would fall--or if they would. He looked up at Genma, then down at the oxygen mask still in his hands. He was beginning to feel sleepy again, without it. He looked back up as Genma started talking again.

"We won't be meeting at all this week or next week. I won't know until then if we'll stay together as a team." Genma looked at them both, and offered a faint smile that tried to be reassuring. "But I'll keep you updated on the progress, don't worry."

"_Arigatou_, Genma-_sensei_," Iruka told him, after a moment of silence. "That's kind of you."

"_Hai, arigatou_," Hayate echoed.

Genma snorted a laugh. His smile was back, wry and matching the returning spark in his pale eyes. "That's what you say now. You know they're letting you go today, right, Iruka?"

"_Hai_." Iruka yawned again. "It's nice of them. I'm tired of being here."

"You'll be coming home with me. You're concussed, you need supervision." Genma sighed. "And since I'm your teacher--or was, or whatever, you'll be staying with me."

"...can you do that?" Iruka asked. "I mean, y'know, you're my teacher, and living with you would be weird. And you probably live in a hole somewhere, 'cause I know being a teacher don't pay well, Hiko_-sensei_ always said so. D'you think there'd be enough room for me to fit? I wouldn't wanna chase you out of your hole just because both of us wouldn't fit, that would be bad, and then you couldn't keep an eye on me and that would be really bad and--"

"Shut up," Genma snapped. "Where do you get these ideas?"

"He just does," Hayate sighed. "But I think his brain's allright. He can't be too hurt if he's rambling again." He smiled at Iruka, gently, because he was only teasing. Iruka knew it and grinned back, sleepy-eyed but amused.

* * *

**A/N:** On time today! Yay! And thus we set the stage for more action, a tighter plot, and character development. Looks forward to fluff, angst, and fun, in roughly that order. And explanations as to why people are glowng in colours.

As I post this chapter I'm writing chapter twenty-three. Just thought you might like to know I'm still pulling away, and preparing for a jump of several months time-wise in a few more chapters. Things are moving right along.

Five reviews last chapter! A fantastic thanks to all my lovely reviewers: **Ghostboy418**, **InARealPickle**, **Ryo Yuriko**, **Ally Plz**, and **Ice Dragon3**!

**Hayaku** Hurry

**A note on hemephobia:** It is the fear of blood! Hints were placed in earlier chapters--most notably chapter four. So our dear Ayame cannot stand the sight of blood, and alas, that's a big hinderance to a career where you kill people for a living.


	17. Ch 16: Garden Games

**A/N:** A brief interlude. No Iruka nor Hayate nor even Genma. They're lurking in the next chapter!

I own none of the Naruto characters.

**It's an ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: Garden Games**

* * *

_August 4_

"Hiko_-sensei_ told me I test for graduation tomorrow."

"_Nani_?" Uchiha Mikoto turned on her heel. "Itachi, don't be silly. You're doing very well in all your classes, but you've only been in the Academy a year."

"I'm not lying." Uchiha Itachi kicked off his sandals and set his bookbag down. He followed his mother into the kitchen. "That's what he said. He and Himura_-sensei_."

"Allright." She sounded very disbelieving. Itachi frowned at her back, then smiled at the three-year-old on her hip, who was leaning over her arm and chanting his name incessantly. "Fine, Sasuke, be still." Mikoto set Sasuke down. The toddler instantly scrambled over to Itachi

" _'Nii-san_," the child lisped, affectionately latching onto Itachi. The top of his head came to Itachi's elbow, as Itachi himself came only to his mother's elbow.

Itachi sighed and held his arms up out of the way. But when Sasuke looked up at him with bright eyes and a wide grin, Itachi smiled back. Sasuke giggled and tugged on his brother's shirt. Itachi sighed, leaned over, and laboriously picked Sasuke up. He had to lean way off to the side to balance both their weights. Sasuke giggled again and planted a sticky kiss on Itachi's cheek. Itachi grimaced.

"Yuck, Sasuke..."

"_ 'Nii-san_." Sasuke smiled angelically, his chubby little face alight. "Missed you."

"Can't say I missed you," Itachi grumbled, quietly, so his mother would not hear.

Mikoto turned, and smiled at her boys. "Why don't you take Sasuke out into the garden, and play with him while I cook supper?" she asked. "And no live steel, Itachi. Remember how upset Fugaku was last time. And if you set my hydrangea on fire again, I will pinch your head off."

"_Hai_, _'Kaa-san_." Itachi sighed dramatically. His mother ignored it.

Itachi looked at Sasuke, and set his little brother down. It was difficult--Sasuke disliked being put down once he had been picked up. But once Itachi had him mostly on the floor instead of mostly on Itachi, Sasuke sat down with a plump and frowned up at his brother. Itachi made a face at him before trotting off down the hall. Behind him came a dismayed cry, and the rapid patter of Sasuke's little feet. Itachi neither slowed nor picked up his pace, heading steadily for the gardens.

The summer sun was low in the afternoon sky, and much of the garden was bathed in shade. The heat was still incredible--it was the last week of July and summer was at its peak. The sound of the cicadas buzzing was fantastic. Birds were singing and other insects chirping, and the noise lasted long after the sun went down. Summer was peaking, full and hot and ripe with life. Itachi stepped down off the porch and into the garden, looking up at the spindly patterns the great mimosa tree spidered across the sky. The tree was thick with blossoms, and the garden was coated with the sweet scent.

" _'Nii-san_!" Sasuke demanded. Itachi turned, and watched the toddler climb carefully off the porch. "You go too fast," Sasuke huffed. "It's not fair."

"Life's not fair," Itachi returned, repeating Hiko's oft-told phrase. "Your legs are too short, that's all."

"I'm still growing," Sasuke answered. He pattered up to stand beside Itachi, beneath the grand mimosa. "What'd you do in school today, 'Tachi?"

"History, mostly," Itachi answered, with a sigh. He turned and walked over to the small fish pond. He did not look to see if Sasuke was following--he knew the answer already. "Review on the Third _Ninja_ War, and the Treatise of Brigands." History could be incredibly boring, especially all the legal bits. But boring made it no less important, though many of Itachi's classmates seemed to think so.

"Didja learn any cool _ninjutsu_?" Sasuke pressed.

"_Iya_." Itachi dabbled his bare toes in the pond. Several of the fish therein swam up to lip at his foot--others were wise to the trick and remained at the bottom. "Just review. Karasou dropped his _kunai_ and stuck it right through his foot. He bled everywhere."

"_Honto ni_?" Sasuke plopped to sit by the pond, and dangled his chubby fingers in the water. "What happened then?"

"Himura_-sensei_ took him away and Hiko_-sensei_ watched us." Itachi gathered his _chakra_, pressed it carefully, and took a cautious step onto the water. He was standing at the very shallowest end of the pond--the water was no more than a few inches deep. He held the balance for several moments, before it broke and he dropped into the water with a splash.

Sasuke yelped as he got wet. Itachi said nothing and stepped out of the water. The fish swam in frightened circles. Itachi watched them, mesmerized by the frantic motion and the glittering scales. He wondered if he could pin one to the bottom of the pond with a _kunai_. Maybe--they moved so fast. Maybe not--he would get into such trouble! But it might be fun to try. Only not now--Sasuke was watching, and Sasuke would tell tales. That, and first he had to figure out a way to get the _kunai_ back out of the pond without too much trouble. Maybe wires?

"You scared the fish."

Itachi glanced over at Sasuke, who was scowling down at the fish. The boy looked up, and the golden afternoon sunshine tinted his eyes until they were almost green. Sasuke was only three, and his eyes still retained the vivid baby blue. Old wives'-tales among the Uchiha declared the longer the blue remained in a child's eyes, the stronger the Sharingan later in life. Itachi's eyes had turned ash-grey by the time he was three, but Sasuke's were still that bright, brittle shade of the clear fall skies. Most Uchiha children were kept within the clan compound until their eyes changed, usually around ages two or three.

Itachi leaned over and patted Sasuke on the head, ruffling the wispy black cloud of hair. Sasuke squawked and flailed and almost tipped himself into the fish-pond. Itachi grabbed him before he could--Itachi would be the one in trouble if Sasuke fell in. Many previous incidents had proved this to be true. So he snagged his younger brother by the shoulders and steadied him.

Sasuke stared up at him with bright blue eyes and smiled. "We gonna play?"

"Maybe," Itachi sighed. He straightened, and walked aside, staring up at the mimosa again.

"Nnn, play tag? Or stalk?" Sasuke pattered after Itachi, and fisted his sticky hands in Itachi's shirt. "C'mon, _'nii-san_, play with me?"

"If you're not running by three..." Itachi began.

With a delighted shriek, Sasuke pushed away and darted off across the garden as fast as his little legs could carry him. Itachi silently counted to three before taking off after him. Sasuke was small and nimble, and could weave through the ornamental bushes faster than Itachi could. Itachi grinned anyway, knowing the outcome--he was bigger and faster and stronger. He knew Sasuke's little rabbit-paths through the garden, and he could practically predict where his little brother was going to dodge or scurry. But sometimes Sasuke could surprise even him, and the child did so now.

Instead of darting right, where Itachi was certain he would go, Sasuke skidded to a halt and crouched. Itachi's lunge carried him right past his brother and almost into the blooming pink azalea bush. He heard rather than saw Sasuke spring up and away, and by the time he controlled himself and was on the hunt again, Sasuke had vanished among the abundant garden foliage. But Itachi could hear the thud of little bare feet and the rush of hard breathing. He slithered past two ornamental bushes, and fetched up against the hydrangea, blooming blue and pink mixed into lavender. Little feet were crouched under the lowest branches.

Itachi crouched and grabbed. With a shrill shriek and a scramble, Sasuke shot out of the other side of the hydrangea and took off across the garden. Itachi shot to his feet and pushed off, bare feet digging into the warm earth. Sasuke was ahead, making a beeline for the porch, panting breaths loud. Itachi followed, feeling the summer heat push against him and slow him down.

But Sasuke zagged abruptly and with a flash of dirty bare feet and grin and bright blue eyes took cover beneath the red camellia bush. Itachi dove that way, and his rush was miscalculated by a fraction, as his hand tangled in Sasuke's shirt at the same time his feet tangled in the honeysuckle vine. He fell hard, just able to tuck and roll and wind up tangled in the lower branches of the camellia. But Sasuke--Itachi scrambled out of the bush at Sasuke's shrill cry.

Sasuke was floundering in the fish-pond, wet and startled and just out of his depth. Itachi lunged to the edge and hauled his baby brother out. Sasuke's grip was panicked and pinched and there was a difficult moment when Itachi was sure both of them were going to wind up in the water. But then they were both perched on the edge, and Sasuke's tiny fingers were pinching Itachi's arms, but the panic in the air was dissipating, and they could sit still and breathe a moment.

"Ashes, _'Kaa-san_ is gonna kill me," Itachi groaned.

Sasuke just whimpered and put his head down on his brother's shoulder.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, well. We've met the Uchiha! Itachi and Sasuke and their mother, uh...Mikoto, that was it. Yeah.

Next chapter: Genma gets annoyed, Iruka is his usual chipper self, and an explanation as to why people glow.

Only THREE reviews last chapter. It's enough, but barely. Watch out, folks. The amazing and faithful three reviwers last chapter were: **Ally Plz**, **InARealPickle**, and **Ghostboy814**!

**'Nii-san **Also written as **Onii-san**, meaning older brother

**Iya** The informal version of **Iie**, which means no

**Honto ni** Really, can be used as either question or answer

**A note on the plants mentioned: **I live in Alabama. I know next to nothing about Japanese botany. Please take the plants mentioned with a grain of salt. I'm not sure any of them would exist in a traditional Japanese garden. Thank you for your kindness.


	18. Ch 17: You've Got the Poison

**A/N:** Yay! Here we go, fun with Genma and Iruka!

The title of this chapter is taken from the same song that gives the story it's title: "The Remedy" by Jason Mraz. Partial lyrics to the chorus below:

_"Well if you've gots the poison, I've gots the remedy  
__The remedy is the experience  
__This is a dangerous liaison  
__I say the comedy is that's serious  
__This is a strange enough new play on words..."_

**It's just a little ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: You've Got the Poison**

* * *

_August 4_

"_Dame_! _Dame_, _kuso_, Iruka!"

Iruka froze, and his face was hung in an odd frightened grin of apology. Genma had grown used to the sight over the past few days. He brushed past Iruka and shut the cage quickly, before any of the mice inside could escape.

"How many times," Genma snarled, "have I told you to ask me before you get any of them out? I dosed this batch this morning!"

"...dosed? Oh. Oh. _Gomen_." Iruka seemed to shrink in on himself and tried that apologetic grin again.

Genma snarled at the boy and snatched both hands through his hair, wincing as his fingers hung on the tangles. He shut his eyes and tried to remember patience. It was thin and hard-worn and awful slow in coming before he dared open his mouth to speak again. "You. Away from the cages. Go...sit down. Or something. Just ten more minutes, and then this new batch will be done, and then we will leave. Can you sit still for ten minutes?"

"I'll try, Genma_-sensei_." Iruka grinned a little, and scooted over to plunk himself down on Genma's ill-used couch. He fidgeted there, kicking his long bare legs, tugging at the bandages stark white against his brown skin. Iruka was never still, never ever ever still.

Genma had come to learn more about Iruka than he honestly cared to. Not that Genma disliked the boy--no, but there was a quality to Iruka that was a little overwhelming. He had encamped himself on Genma's couch by Genma's invitation, but Iruka's bright and vibrant personality was less than a guest, more permanent. "He grows on you," Hiko had said, and so Genma had found that Iruka was growing on him, into something more than just a distant student face. The boy was Iruka, bright and vibrant and unable to be still. Yet at the same time...Genma slept lightly. He heard, nights, the boy on his couch thrash and wake and silently cry himself to sleep again.

Iruka smiled sunnily, especially in the mornings. He cooked badly. He wore scandalously short shorts. His hair was unruly and brown. His blue eyes were intense, focused, reminding Genma of a cat's alert stare. Iruka was energy, motion, never still. He ran up and down Genma's street, startling the neighbors with his unrest. He fidgeted and bounced and talked almost incessantly. And Genma found himself talking back, answering questions, catching items on the verge of falling, and becoming used to Iruka's presence. Four days with this child were four days too long, and yet...

"Stop scratching!" Genma barked.

Iruka snatched his right hand away from his left arm. "Not scratching!" he shouted back.

Genma rolled his eyes and stalked back into the kitchen. He prodded carefully at the doubled pot on the stove, making sure that the poison he was brewing was at a steady temperature. Too high or low would render the venom impotent, and the venom from the Spotted Asp from Kusa no Kuni was rather expensive to get ahold of. But Genma had been working with this particular poison for years, and only extreme distraction on his part would cause him to botch it.

"Whatchya doin'?"

Genma bit his lip to keep from cursing in irritation, and looked at the clock on the wall. Two minutes instead of ten. "Working on a poison. Don't touch anything."

"I'm not, I know already." Genma turned and watched Iruka bounce up to sit on the edge of the kitchen table. "What kind of poison?" Iruka asked, sing-song, as he adjusted his sling. Thirty stitches, left forearm, and yet he would still try to use the arm unless it was put in a sling. Genma still caught him using it.

"Snake venom."

"Ah, I see. Neurotoxin or hemotoxin?"

Genma looked at Iruka quickly, a little surprised. But then, Iruka had at least a basic knowledge of medical techniques... "Neurotoxin. Paralytic. Spotted Asp, actually. It's a fairly common poison."

"_Hai_, I know. It's one of the first poisons we're expected to start building a resistance to once we're Genin," Iruka chirped. "I'm already up to the required doses. It's not so bad. Hayate's only halfway there, but he takes things slow 'cause of his allergies. It's kinda funny, y'know, 'cause he's only allergic to trees but because he is, he might be allergic to other stuff, only we don't know it, that's what the doctor at the hospital said, y'know, Megumi_-sensei_, the nice lady doctor? Oh, she said she knew why I keep seeing people glow, and she would talk to the Hokage, and that's why he wanted to see us today."

Genma was only half-paying attention to Iruka's rambling, but he caught the last bit just fine, and turned away from the cooking poison. "_Sou ka_? Well, I wish you'd told me that earlier, brat!"

Iruka grinned at him. "Oh, were you worried? Sorry." He fidgeted, and poked a stack of clean plates that were living on the table.

Genma's apartment was small, and definitely not meant to hold Iruka. It was a slightly cluttered space, because Genma was rarely home to clean properly. His kitchen was the worst, because Genma had a hobby of studying poisons. Ever since he had discovered that he had a more natural resistance to some toxins, Genma had been very, very interested in them. Thus, he usually had a batch or two on the brew. He could currently tolerate lethal doses of eight of the most common poisons used by many _ninja_, he was mostly resistant to five more, and he was currently working on one of the more exotic poisons from Kiriga. They had some absolutely nasty poisons in Kiriga.

Genma tested his poisons on mice before he tested them on himself. He had about three large cages with anywhere from twelve to four mice at any given time. Iruka was utterly fascinated by the mice and kept wanting to play with them. Which was all well and good, until they got away from him, as they tended to, and went on long escapades in Genma's small apartment, which was cleaner than it had been in months due to efforts of catching rodential escapees.

Genma turned back to his poison with a sigh. Five more minutes. "So, you like poisons?"

"Eh, they're okay." Iruka sounded like he was swinging his feet. "Konoha poisons are pretty mundane, though. Standard plants and the odd snake or two. Now, Kiriga poisons are way more interesting. There you get snakes and jellyfish and fish and some of the corals. And I think the summoning contract I found last week is for a poisonous octopus, but I've not got enough _chakra_ yet to make it work. Which was pretty bad, I got poisoned for nothing, 'cause that chest had a nasty trap on it..."

"Your parents left poisonous traps?" Genma asked, feeling a stab of disbelief.

Iruka nodded. "Yup. But it was box jellyfish, and I'm already resistant to that. So I only needed a little of the antidote. The trap was probably _'Kaa-chan_'s, she liked stuff like that."

Genma rounded on Iruka. "You actually have Kiriga poisons? And antidotes?"

"Um..." Iruka looked briefly taken aback. He reached up and rubbed the scar on his face. "Some, yeah. Not many poisons last too long, and most of the antidotes have shorter shelf-lives than the poisons themselves. Probably all that still work are about three jellyfish and the powdered coral. Maybe the lionfish, too, but I doubt it. The serum is pretty light-sensitive, it's probably completely degraded by now."

Genma stared at Iruka, incredulous. "You...do you have any idea how many labs in Konoha would kill to get their hands on those?

"Yeah, but they're mine." Iruka frowned. "And it's not like I have any of the really weird poisons, anyway, just standard stuff."

"Standard...maybe for you!" Genma spluttered. "But as far as Konoha's concerned, no Kiriga poison is standard! We've been trying to nail down exactly what's in most of their poisons for decades! Kiriga is probably the only hidden village we don't have a comprehensive list of poisons and antidotes for."

"And it's for a good reason," Iruka returned, sounding unperturbed. "Not many of them are properly lethal when antidotes are available. So, secrets kept. And no, you can't have any. I'm bound by blood to keep Kiriga secrets from Konoha, and as such I would have to kill you. I'd hate to do it, but I would anyway."

"You...you brat!"

But the threat made Genma hesitate. It was ridiculous, but Iruka was smiling that sick twisted, thirsty smile that belonged far more to veteran _shinobi_ than a twelve-year-old brat. Genma still recalled his lesson of humility at this child's brown hands, and thought perhaps Iruka really might be capable of killing him, experienced and high-ranked as he was. Those ultramarine eyes glittered so blue, when Iruka smiled like that, and tales of Kiriga barbarism rose to Genma's recollection.

He turned away from that smile and back to his poison, fingers itching for the weight of _senbon_ to throw. The skin on his back shivered and crawled, but his hands were steady as he flicked the stove burner off and let the poison begin to cool.

* * *

"He's seeing _chakra_? But I thought that was impossible!"

The Hokage chuckled. "Not exactly. It's not a very useful trick, I'm afraid, unless it's for picking out _shinobi_ from civilians."

"Oh, so that's why some people are brighter than others." Iruka nodded. "I figured out how to make it stop, and do it again. It's kinda like giving my _chakra_ a little loopy twist right above my left ear. You know you're bright gold, Sandaime-_sama_? Like, sunshine in the afternoon."

Sandaime smiled. "I did not."

"Well, you are." Iruka nodded decisively.

Genma reined in his disbelief. "Well, that's unusual."

"Hmm, it's probably from the concussion, but since he can do it at will now, I'd say it's no problem." Hyuuga Megumi, lady doctor, smiled a little at Iruka. She wore no _hitai-ate_, but her bangs still covered the curse seal across her forehead. "Thank you for the description of how you do it, Iruka. Any other notes? It's just a cloud, you say, no lines or anything?"

"Uh-uh. Just a fuzzy haze." Iruka grinned. "And colours. Those are pretty neat."

"Very nice." Megumi smiled and stood, straightening out her long white frock as she did. "Well, I conclude he is in no danger. I will take my leave. Thank you for indulging me, Hokage-_sama_." She bowed.

"Not a problem. Thank you." The Hokage watched her leave. "I have news for you two," he said gently, picking up a paper from his desk. He handed the single sheet to Genma. "Due to the unusual nature of a certain student within the Academy, I can say that by next week you will have a new member for your team. He will be fairly young, but I believe your team will be the best choice for him."

"That was...fast," Genma said, looking over the paper, with surprise. It was similar to the pages he had signed for his first set of Genin--legal acknowledgement of Genma's rank, age limit, and other such jargon that kept him from being completely responsible for any injury or deaths that occurred.

"So we'll still be _ninja_?" Iruka demanded.

"Of course." The Sandaime smiled.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, we're getting a third member to our lacking Team 13! Wonder who it could be...

Just kidding. Next chapter: Tuesdays, rain and grief...and "a sorrow shared is a sorrow halved."

FIVE reviews last chapter, including a generous double-chapter-review from **Ice Dragon3**! Thanks to everyone: **anon**, **Ally Plz**, **Rebelgirl666**, **eggomilburnigan**, and **Ice Dragon3**! I appreciate you taking the time to tell me you're enjoying the story!

**Dame** No, stop

**Kuso** An interjection often interpreted as a cuss word. I'm not actually certain of the actual meaning

**Sou ka** Is that so?

**A note on the poisons:** The snake I made up, but the other animals mentioned are, very truthfully, poisonus creatures found in real life. Confused by any terms I used? I'm a pre-nursing student, so what seems elementary to me can be extremely obtuse. Please point out any confusion in your reviews, and I will be perfectly happy to answer you.

**Neurotoxin** A toxin affecting the nerves

**Hemotoxin** A toxin affecting the blood

**Paralytic** A substance that paralyzes

**AND COOKIES FOR WHOEVER CORRECTLY IDENTIFIES THE "POISONUS OCTOPUS" THAT IRUKA MENTIONS!**


	19. Ch 18: Rain on the Windowpane

**A/N: **Your dose of angst for the week! Yay for school starting. And for days chock-full of insane classes.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

**It's sadly AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Eighteen: Rain on the Windowpane**

* * *

_August 5_

It was Tuesday.

The knowledge was lodged in Iruka's mind like a heavy thundercloud.

He woke under it and pressed his face into his pillow. He could smell that Genma was up and cooking--breakfast mingled with the bitter air of poison. It tasted almost like smoke. Iruka took deep breaths into his own pillow. It smelled like home, like his own soap. He felt lonely, heavy, pressed down by the weight of sadness. Pain was beginning to throb in his skull, a low sick ache like storms and lightning. He reached up and rubbed rough fingers across the ridged scar, trying to make the tension go away. Cocooned in his blankets and pillow, he was wrapped in his own little world of hurt and ache. He hated it but did not exactly want to leave. Leaving might mean forgetting.

And to forget...how could he forget? His mother's bright blue eyes, her sharp smiles and loud gay voice. Iruka had loved twisting his fingers in her short chestnut curls. His father's hazel eyes, his gentle smile, his ink-back hair, so straight. Iruka had adored his deep rumbling voice announcing his return to home. His mother and father fighting, voices raised, starting to spar in the kitchen, the fight spilling out into the hall in lighting fast moves that turned into holds that turned into hugs and laughter and kisses. His mother's broad calloused hands smoothing over his own, angling the _kunai_ for the proper throw. His father's gentle touch nudging his body into the right stances for _taijutsu_. Laughter and laughter and love that was always there. Always.

Hot tears soaked into his pillow.

Iruka bit his lip and fought everything back down. He was not alone. There was Genma to face while he got breakfast. And then, down at the October Memorial, then he could be sad. But first...to get past Genma. It sounded like a mission, and Iruka almost laughed. What a mission.

His stitches itched and his scar ached. Iruka sat up from his warm nest of blankets and raked his hands through his hair. It was a wild brown mop, free from his ponytail, and it desperately needed brushing. Iruka finger-combed it best he could with one gimpy arm as he got up and slipped away into the bathroom.

He emerged with his hair tamed, his face washed, and feeling more grim and ready. He went on quiet bare feet into the kitchen. Genma was standing there, at the stove, nibbling on the end of a chopstick and using the other to nudge a piece of bread 'round the flat pan. Iruka knew there were riceballs in the refrigerator, as well as bottles of water. That would be a good enough breakfast.

"_Ohayou_," Genma mumbled at him, looking up. "You slee...you okay?"

Iruka tried a smile. It did not twist and crumple. "_Daijoubu_."

"...okay." Genma turned back to his cooking. "I'm going out later today. We need more food, you've eaten almost all of mine. Anyway, so I thought that..."

Iruka was creeping across the linoleum floor, and edging out the _onigiri_ from the fridge under the noise of Genma's talk. He stuck the bottle of water in his teeth, and headed for the door. He could be completely silent when he wanted to. By the time Genma looked up for an answer, he was alone in his apartment.

* * *

It was raining, heavy sheets of downpour. The lightning was fierce and flashing, the thunder loud and cracking. Every time the sky lit up with the copper-white light, Iruka could feel Hayate flinch. Iruka was not bothered by the rain. He had come out without an umbrella. But before the rain had fallen for an hour, Hayate had come dripping down the trail, umbrella in hand, despite his fear of lightning. He stood behind Iruka, and offered no words. Iruka was grateful for the silence. He was grateful for the umbrella, too. It made things easier.

Iruka's fingers shook as he struck the match, despite the fact that the rain and the air were warm. Iruka lit the candle and shook the match out. He tucked the matchbox back in his pocket, and pulled out a _kunai_. With a quick easy motion, he snipped a cut along his wrist. Blood beaded and grew. Carefully, Iruka held his bleeding wrist over the candle. The rising flame sizzled and hissed as the drop of blood fell into it, burning and mingling with the melting wax.

Ritual completed, Iruka wiped off the blade and sheathed it. He clamped his right hand around his left wrist, to stop the bleeding. He knelt there, feeling quiet and empty, watching the flame burn and shiver with the wind. Behind him, Hayate winced as lightning broke the sky. As the thunder crashed around their ears, Iruka blew the candle out. He stood, slowly, stiffly. Hayate was desperately afraid of lightning, yet here he stood in the storm, holding vigil with his friend.

Iruka tucked the candle into his hand, and looked over at Hayate. Pale and mournful, Hayate looked back. They said nothing. They turned to go up the path again. Hayate hung close to Iruka, shoulder-to shoulder, sharing umbrella space and a sense of security. Iruka knew lightning was very unlikely to strike them, but it made Hayate's walk easier to be so close, and so he said nothing.

Halfway up the path, the very damp pair met Genma.

Genma looked at them with a mix of anger and worry on his fine features. He was out of uniform, head uncovered, damp and disheveled, with an old umbrella in his arms. He stared at them, and opened his mouth twice without speaking. He shook his head--his damp hair spread in wet arcs with the motion. He beckoned to them, and turned back up the narrow path.

Hayate gazed up at Iruka. Iruka sighed, and stepped out. They followed Genma down the rain-filled streets to his home.

Genma left them at the door without a word. Iruka dripped forlornly on the threshold. He was soaked, even his stitches, which were supposed to stay dry. Hayate, only damp, shook like a little dog and set his umbrella down carefully. Iruka brushed ineffectually at his clothes--funny how cold and damp he felt, inside and away from the summer heat.

Hayate stepped away, inside, twisting around to stare anxiously at Iruka. He felt he should smile, to make Hayate stop worrying, but he wasn't sure he could. Instead he met that dark umber gaze with his own, until Hayate looked away again.

Genma came out of the kitchen, looked briefly at them, and vanished into the bathroom. He returned momentarily to them, towels in hand. He gave them the towels without a word, face drawn and somehow tired. For all he was only just turned twenty, he looked so weary and grim. Iruka met that honey-coloured gaze and saw sorrow to match his own. He looked away again, quickly, to dry himself off. He took his thick ponytail down and let it all fall free. By the time he was reasonably dry, stitches and all, Genma had gone, and Hayate was lingering, between the kitchen doorway and Iruka, as though tied on a gossamer string to his friend. Iruka thought of tethers and memory and loyalty and love, and it made him want to cry.

Instead, he moved across the floor, to Hayate and past him, leading the way into the tiny kitchen. It was lit by the bare bulb, the light harsh and unforgiving, but rainy twilight was pressing at the windows. Genma was at the stove, arms crossed, staring fixedly at the kettle. Iruka walked to the table and put his back to it. He jumped to sit on table, ignoring the chairs. Hayate, less careless, pushed a chair close and sat in it. He leaned his damp curly head on Iruka's thigh and sighed. Iruka reached down and tangled his fingers in Hayate's dark curls without looking. Instead he stared out the little kitchen window, tracing the rivulets of rain on the glass.

Genma made tea, eerily silent in his tasks. He poured three cups. Iruka took his without protest when offered. Hayate murmured a soft thanks, lifting his head from where it rested. It left a cool damp spot on Iruka's thigh, and he missed the warmth. He shivered and cupped his hands around the warm mug of tea, and watched the steam rise.

Their teacher leaned against the counter opposite them, and stared down into his cup. After a long moment, he broke the silence in a hesitant voice. "Why...why Tuesdays?"

Iruka considered the question. There were a myriad of reasons. He had been born on a Tuesday. His mother had made Tuesday washday, a day for cleansing. He father's shifts had changed on Tuesdays, and he had come home early on those days. The day right after the...the attack...had been a Tuesday. He had woken up one Tuesday and decided that day was the last one he was going to be sad. The day and word melded so many meanings together.

"No reason," he whispered at last.

Hayate leaned against him again, a warm solid presence that was comforting. Iruka spared a hand from his mug, dropping it to palm the curve of Hayate's skull, slide his fingers through the heavy ripples of Hayate's curls. Iruka's mother's hair had been curly, thick and close-cropped to her skull. He missed her and her laughter and the sense of love and danger she embodied.

"Do you remember them?" Genma asked, and there was a wistfulness to the question.

"_Hai_." Iruka looked up at the young man. "_Itsumo_."

Genma's gaze flicked up to meet his, then away again. "I don't," he offered, softly. "I can't remember my parents. Only my sisters. And just barely. They died so long ago. I don't think I even remember...how long ago it was."

Loss and pain resonated quietly, hummed between them like a note of a song. The rainfall tapped gently against the windowpane, old memories and ghosts of the past asking entrance. Iruka shivered, and bit his lip. Against him, Hayate pressed close, silent and still and just there. Iruka curved his hand through Hayate's hair, twined a curl round and round one finger.

"I don't want to forget," Iruka whispered, slowly, the words pressed out of him by his own ache, pulled from him by Genma's faded scars. "But I...I don't want to ever forget them. But I wish...I wish it didn't hurt so much."

Genma's face turned down to his tea. "It...takes time. It doesn't stop hurting, but...it stops hurting so much." He looked up at them, older than his twenty years. "I know it doesn't seem like it." He trailed off, and sighed sadly.

"It's like the rain," Hayate whispered, voice thin and raspy but still so heavy with his own quiet sorrow. "It's here now, and it's raining. But it can't stay forever."

"No. The sun's got to shine again," Genma agreed, and he smiled softly.

Iruka shut his eyes, and thought of his parents. He swallowed, hard, and looked up at Genma. "You're right," he said. "Tomorrow the sun will shine again." He tried a smile--it was thin and wobbly. He let it drop and took a sip of his tea. It was good and warm and it took away the raw pull at the back of his throat that tasted so much like unshed tears.

Outside the rain fell steadily.

* * *

**A/N: **Whew! Angst, huh. Fear not, next chapter shall be almost insanely fluffy to counteract the angst. Hayate will bring lotsa laughs with him.

FIVE REVIEWS! A phenomenal thanks to those who reviewed last chapter: **InARealPickle**, **Ally Plz**, **AnimeOtaku31821**, **Ghostboy814**, and **Ryo Yuriko**!

Cookies by the dozen go to both **Ally Plz** and **Ryo Yuriko**, who both correctly indentified the poisonus octopus as the **Blue Ringed Octopus**! Yay! (If you want something more substantial than e-cookies, you two, approach me with a character or a three-word challenge and I'll write you a drabble.)

**Onigiri** Riceballs

**Itsumo** Always


	20. Ch 19: Boys of Summer

**A/N: **Yesterday, our internet was being updated from dial-up to DSL! Now we have faster internet! Sorry for the delay, but it couldn't be helped.

Chapter title take from the song "The Boys of Summer," originally done by Don Henley of the Eagles, redone by the Ataris.

"_I can see you, brown skin shining in the sun  
You got your hair combed back and those sunglasses on, baby  
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong  
After the boys of summer have gone_."  
--"The Boys of Summer," by the Ataris

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

**It's AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Boys of Summer**

* * *

_August 12-13_

It was August, the only the second week, and it was so hot, even at night. The night was busy, full of insect songs and birdsong and laughter. Laughter, because Iruka and Hayate were still awake, sprawled on Genma's floor with blankets and pillows and a flashlight. It was so warm, and they felt they could not sleep. Instead, they were wrassling and bopping each-other with pillows and stifling chuckles, because Genma was supposedly asleep already.

They were to meet their new team-mate in the morning. Hayate was not sure exactly how it had happened, but Iruka had proposed that Hayate sleep over, and it had happened. Hayate supposed a lot of wheedling and pleading had gone into this on Iruka's part. They had met at the hospital earlier, and Iruka had gotten the stitches out of his arm, and all three had trekked back to Genma's little messy apartment.

Hayate fended off Iruka's exuberant attack, and retaliated with his own pillow-blow. Iruka was caught off balance and rolled onto his back with a gasp of laughter. Hayate pounced down on him, stifling a cough, and proceeded to tickle him with glee. Iruka writhed and gasped and did his best not to outright shriek with laughter. He got back the advantage when Hayate caught a breath wrong and started coughing. He snatched up his pillow and buried his face in it, muffling the coughs.

Iruka waited until he started breathing again, then thwapped him on the back with a pillow.

Hayate yipped and smacked him back, unable to stop grinning. He was gasping badly for breath, but so was Iruka, and they both could not stop grinning. They were hot and sweaty and probably were not going to be able to sleep for hours yet, but Hayate just could not quite care, even with his breath burning a hot line down his chest and rattling harsh in the back of his throat.

Iruka whacked him, and Hayate lost his balance, crumpling from his knees to the floor. Iruka smothered a laugh and smacked him again. Hayate twisted around with a desperate fling--his pillow clipped Iruka's shoulder and sent his next swing wide. Iruka flailed as he nearly went over backwards, and Hayate kicked at his hip, knowing a good fast blow would knock Iruka right over.

The overhead light snapped on, and Genma's voice snapped out just as abruptly.

"What. The. Heck. Are. You. Brats. Doing?!"

Hayate actually jumped in fright and startlement, inhaled too abruptly, and burst out in a coughing fit. Half-blinded by the light, he caught a blurred glimpse of Genma standing with hands on hips, sleep-mussed and wearing a pair of ragged pajama pants.

"Pillow-fighting!" Iruka declared with glee. Hayate recognized his friend's intent, and looked up in time to see--with great horror--Iruka launch himself at Genma and thwap their teacher in the chest with his pillow.

Genma stared down at Iruka, completely flabbergasted. Iruka beamed up at him with a wicked grin. Hayate felt a grin break out on his face, and he stifled a nervous chuckle. Genma looked from Iruka to Hayate to Iruka's pillow and back again. Then he exploded into motion, snatched Iruka's pillow away, and beat Iruka over the head with it. Iruka shrieked with laughter and flung his arms over his head. Genma was grinning now, wild and wicked as Iruka.

Hayate laughed breathlessly and lunged up with his own pillow to help Iruka. Genma instantly turned on him, and he had the advantage of height. He promptly lost it when Iruka tackled him in the knees, and Genma's wild attempt to save himself caught Hayate and they all went down in a heap with yelps and shouts of laughter. Hayate caught someone's knee in his ribs and nearly got the breath knocked out of him. Iruka was laughing, bright and free as was his way. After a moment, Genma laughed too, rich and surprisingly deep. He twisted, rolling Hayate off the pile, and tickled Iruka.

That would not do. Hayate got his legs back under him and boffed Genma upside the head with his pillow. Genma yelped and ducked, and Iruka twisted around and grabbed Genma right above the knee and they discovered that Genma was indeed ticklish. Iruka pursued this advantage with far more delight than was called for, until Genma tipped over onto the floor and his face was lit with laughter. Hayate almost came to help Genma, but then the young man snaked out an arm and caught a pillow up and snapped it across Iruka's face. With a yelp, Iruka jerked back and rolled over backwards. Hayate lunged in and caught Genma across the shoulder with his pillow.

All three startled and froze when Genma's front door slammed open.

"By the seven lucky gods, Genma, what are you doing in here?"

A tall man with a scarred face was leaning against Genma's doorframe, wearing a ragged T-shirt and a pair of boxers with orange smiley-faces on them. He looked sleepy and irritated and a little amused. He frowned upon seeing them all on the floor, the scars on the left side of his face pulling the expression awry. The scars traveled down the side of his face, across his neck and vanished under the neckline of his T-shirt, a shiny web of damaged-healed tissue.

"Raidou! Ummmm..." Genma gaped a moment, then grinned sheepishly. His hair was in all kinds of disarray, his eyes still bright with laughter, face still flushed with it. He shook his hair back and shrugged a little. "Pillow-fighting?" he offered, tone rising at the end, leaving it a question.

The man sighed, and raked broad hands through his short brown hair. "It's almost midnight, you moron. And who're the kids? Oh, these're your Genin, right? What's left of 'em?"

"Yeah. Iruka--" Genma swatted Iruka on the shoulder, "--and Hayate." He snapped out a long leg and lightly kicked Hayate's thigh. "Brats, Raidou. Raidou, brats."

"Ah." Raidou sighed, stepped barefoot into Genma's apartment, and shut the door behind him. "Well, keep it down. You've already woken me up, and next thing you know you'll get old widow Hajime in here shouting."

"Aw, Raidou, she's stone deaf and you know it." Genma laughed again and sat up straight, folding himself up with feline grace. The smile he was giving the other man made Hayate grin a little. He knew that smile. Iruka smiled like that every time he saw Hayate: welcome, joy, contentment. Obviously, Genma and this man were good friends.

"Whatever." Raidou smirked, and then strode right past them as they sat on the floor.

"_Oi_, where you going? Genma demanded, flopping over backwards to follow Raidou's progress.

"You woke me up. Least you can do is feed me!" Raidou retorted from the kitchen. "Hey, you've got chocolate chip ice-cream!"

"Aw heck no!" Genma shouted, scrambling to his feet and charging off into the kitchen. "Don't you dare!"

Hayate snorted, and traded glances with Iruka. Iruka was laughing outright. He jumped to his feet and offered his hands to Hayate. Hayate took them and flowed with the motion as Iruka hauled him to his feet. Then they took off together for the kitchen. If there was to be ice-cream involved, they definitely wanted to get some.

* * *

They did eventually get some sleep that night. They all woke late, but not too terribly late. By the time ten rolled around, Genma, Hayate, and Iruka were all down at training ground three. Iruka, despite the lost sleep, was energetic and bouncy as ever. Hayate felt tired watching him, but Iruka was in an incredibly good mood, and his laughter was infectious. Genma looked the same as ever, lazy-lidded stare tracking his two Genin carefully. The _senbon_ between his teeth was rolling back and forth quite rapidly, though. Genma was nervous. Hayate wondered if their teacher knew how revealing that habit was. Likely not.

"Aw, c'mon, sleepy-head! Come spar with me!" Iruka demanded. "You fell asleep before I did, anyway, you should have more energy! Only wait, that's right, it's not the sleep, it's the trees and the whole-not-being-able-to-breathe thing. That's right. Anyway! You should still spar with me! Even if you can't breathe! I think it'd do you good!" Iruka planted his feet firmly, crossed his arms over his chest, and nodded decisively.

Genma snorted. " 'Spar with me even if you can't breathe?' Brat, you've got some seriously screwy logic."

"I don't think he has any at all," Hayate said softly, and smiled when Iruka burst into spluttering outrage. But Iruka's eyes were bright and happy. Hayate smothered a chuckle and rolled to his feet, leaving Genma sitting alone under the tree.

Sparring with Iruka was a challenge, because even if Hayate was faster, Iruka was more powerful. He could easily sent Hayate sprawling. Hayate grinned and slithered under Iruka's guard, never quite closing, never staying long enough for Iruka to get a hold of him. It was hot under the summer morning sun, and Hayate was still tired. He felt the exertion keenly--flexing and pushing and dodging. The heavy humid air was thick in his mouth and throat, and the ground was hot and dry beneath his sandals. He dropped to the side, feet steady, only bending above the waist, and felt Iruka's thumb nick his ear. Flex and coil and he slid under the strike, and landed a good solid blow against Iruka's ribs. Iruka huffed, and snapped a knee up, but Hayate was already sliding aside, and the blow grazed his side inside of winding him completely.

Hayate felt Iruka's hand fist in the back of his shirt, and tried to twist away. With an easy pull and grab. Iruka rolled him over his center of balance and to the hot ground. Hayate let the impact recoil through him without resistance, and laid there a moment, panting and shutting his eyes against the bright hot sunshine. Above him, Iruka chuckled, and leaned over, blocking the light.

"Are you sure you can't breathe? I think you're getting faster. I had to really improvise there--almost fumbled that throw! But you're light, so you're really easy to handle, and you've got a fairly high center of balance, all things considered. You tumble really well. Hey! You should be, like, one of those traveling performers, 'cause you're so bendy and fall so well!"

Hayate opened his eyes and squinted up into Iruka's brown scarred face. "I'm a _ninja_. Isn't it the same thing?" he rasped. His throat felt rough, but he did not have to cough just yet.

"Well, maybe, only without all the traveling and showing off, I guess. But that might be fun. Maybe not as cool as being _ninja_, but it'd still be awesome! I guess if we fail Chuunin we could be traveling performers! 'Cause we should always have a backup plan, that's what Hiko-_sensei_ always said, don't you remember? Hey, maybe you should get up. I think the new kid's coming. I wonder how much younger he is than us? What do you think, Hayate? I think you should get up, you don't want to make a bad impression, y'know, 'cause we're gonna be _sempai_ and we gotta be cool. Like Kotetsu-_sempai_!"

Hayate sighed, small and careful. "Kotetsu was not cool. Move over so I can get up."

"Aaww, you just don't like him 'cause he stuffed a frog down your pants. I don't see why."

"Iruka, please think about what you just said." Hayate rolled to his feet, and dusted himself off. He glanced over at Genma, and saw to his dismay that the young man was indeed listening to the conversation, and looking amused. Hayate sighed again, and forgot to be careful. He burst out coughing.

It was a quick, hard fit, and it cleared out his throat nicely. He turned and spat, before looking up at Iruka with his best mournful look. "You make me cough."

"No, trees do that!" Iruka protested, gesturing madly. "_Baka_."

"You help." Hayate laughed a little at him, then looked out to the gate of the training field. A small figure was standing there. As Hayate watched, it came closer.

It was a boy, quite young, around eight or nine. Despite the heat, he was wearing a black shirt with a high collar, a pair of khaki shorts, and standard Konoha sandals. Hayate did a double-take on seeing the _hitai-ate_ tied around the boy's neck, holding the high collar folded down. The boy walked with trained grace, head high, feet careful. He had dark, sleek hair that fell just to his jaw, straight and inky black. It was parted in the middle, and the distinctive widows-peak and his ash-grey eyes told exactly who he was--an Uchiha.

He walked up to Genma and paused, staring down his little nose at the seated young man. "Shiranui Genma?" he asked, his voice still a child's treble pipe.

"_Hai_." Genma studied the boy carefully. "Are you my new student?"

The boy's nose wrinkled briefly, but he mastered his expression. "So it seems." He bowed a little. "_Boku wa _Uchiha Itachi_._"

* * *

**A/N:** Yay! So not only do we have faster internet at my house, we have our new team member! Yay! We have finally met Raidou and Itachi! Next chapter will pick up immediately after this one. Fear not, the adventures continue!

In my profile, there are links to art for this story. Watch for more to appear. I draw a lot.

FOUR reviews last chapter! A grand thanks to: **InARealPickle**, **Ally Plz**, **Ghostboy814**, and **KawaiiIruka**!

Welcome aboard to the new readers, of which there have been several. I assure you, things get more interesting from here on out. To all of you out here who favorited the story and did not review: shame on you.

**Sempai** Upper-classman, as in an older student

**Boku wa Uchiha Itachi** I am Uchiha Itachi, using the young boy's **boku** or I

**A note on Raidou's comment:** He invokes the name of the Japanese Seven Lucky Gods or the Seven Gods of Fortune, a group of gods possessing powers of good fortune: Ebisu, Daikokuten, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Fukurokuju, Hotei, and Jurojin


	21. Ch 20: Pop Goes the Weasel

**A/N: **And the meeting of Itachi continues! With fun and excitement. Hope you all enjoyed your Labor day weekend. I did not. I spent it picking up limbs and hauling fallen trees away. Ouch.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

Chapter title taken from the childhood rhyme:

"All around the cobbler's bench  
The monkey chased the weasel  
The monkey though 'twas all in fun  
POP goes the weasel!"

**It's an eccentric ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty: Pop Goes the Weasel**

* * *

_August 13_

Itachi watched as the young man's eyebrows rose, before settling. Itachi was a little surprised--Genma was much younger than he had expected. He looked about the same age as Kaika, Itachi's cousin, who was only just nineteen. Itachi kept his face blank as the Genma reached a conclusion and spoke around the _senbon_ between his teeth.

"An Uchiha, huh? Well. That's unexpected. How old are you, brat?"

_"Brat?!"_ Itachi thought, startled and annoyed. "Eight."

"Wagh, you're kidding me!" wailed one of the older kids. Itachi half-turned. "Eight? And graduated? Can they do that?" It was the taller boy, brown-skinned with dark eyes and a broad scar across his face. He was dressed a little shabbily, and he talked very loudly. "How long were you at the Academy?"

"A year," Itachi answered, after a moment. He could afford to give that away.

"A year." Genma repeated. He looked at Itachi, and beneath his heavy lids, his pale eyes were sharp.

"Flying fish, that's crazy!" the brown boy exclaimed. "Are you really only eight?"

"Brat, shut it," Genma ordered, voice sharpening a notch. He glared briefly at the older boys, then looked at Itachi carefully. He smiled a little. "Those are your team-mates. Umino Iruka, the loud one, and Gekkou Hayate. C'mere and sit down, brats."

As the two complied, Itachi took a moment to look at the one named Hayate. The boy was slight, with dark eyes and dark hair. He moved with a loose-limbed kind of grace, a direct contrast to Iruka, who walked with the compact stalk of a predator. Itachi averted his gaze: that stalk made him nervous. Instead, he looked to the young teacher, who was leaning lazily against the tree. Itachi doubted he was all that relaxed: he was Tokubetsu Jounin, what for all he was so young. The two older boys sat in the shade, Iruka dropping down gracelessly, Hayate folding himself neatly beside the other boy. Immediately, Iruka started poking Hayate in the ribs. Hayate looked mournfully at Iruka and sighed a tiny sigh. Iruka grinned and kept poking. Hayate rolled his eyes and ignored him, looking up solemnly at Itachi.

"Have a seat, Itachi," Genma ordered, but lightly. "And tell us a bit about yourself. What can you do?"

Itachi did not sit. He was very aware that standing, he was a little above eye-level with the young man. Sitting would make him seem smaller. "What any Academy graduate can do," he answered, blandly. "I passed with full marks."

"Hmm. Well, that remains to be seen." Genma smirked. "Not a talkative kid, eh? I don't think I could stand two like Iruka."

"You say that like I'm a bad thing," Iruka protested, smiling.

"You are," Hayate sighed, softly.

Genma snorted, and looked back at Itachi with a heavy-lidded, unreadable look. "Either talk or get ready to spar, brat. Your choice."

Itachi wondered if it was a test. After a moment, he decided it probably was not. He nodded, carefully. "_Taijutsu_ only?" That was what Genma had most likely meant, but Itachi wanted it to be clear. Most people were dreadfully imprecise when they talked. It was very annoying.

"_Hai_." Genma switched his _senbon_ from one side of his mouth to the other. "Hayate, you spar with him."

"Why not me?" Iruka demanded, head snapping up.

"Because you only got your stitches out yesterday," Genma snapped, giving Iruka an annoyed scowl. "Brat."

Iruka subsided with a matching scowl. Hayate sighed a little and stood. He moved out into sun and started stretching, with only a brief glance at Itachi. Itachi wondered what the older boy was thinking--it was surprisingly hard to tell. He moved out and started the limbering warm-up stretches as well.

Hayate finished first, and waited quietly until Itachi settled into a stance. The older boy regarded him with dark umber eyes, nodded, and slipped smoothly into an attack routine. Itachi blocked the first few blows with wariness, then contempt. Hayate's strikes were measured, and the older boy's face was completely unreadable. Itachi did not like the idea that he was being underestimated. He knew the standard patterns well enough to improvise from any point he chose--and he did so now. From an easy block he slid into an aggressive offensive. Hayate seemed startled and missed the first chance to block, but right before the blow landed on his flank he dodged in a spectacularly boneless-looking manner. After that, he guarded well and fast--he took a rather passive defense, which annoyed Itachi.

He could not quite break Hayate's guard, and changed tactics. Fast footwork had been the undoing of many of his older opponents at the Academy, and because he was so small and light, Itachi could be very quick. He pressed his turn of speed now, and to his great satisfaction, slipped a single strike under Hayate's guard. His fist drummed up against the older boy's ribs with a satisfying impact. Hayate huffed only a very little, and dropped back instead of counter-attacking.

And then he coughed, startling Itachi badly. It was a loud, barking cough that rattled nastily in the older boy's throat. Hayate coughed about twice, hacked and spat. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and breathing carefully through both mouth and nose, turned back to Itachi.

"Whoa, whoa." Genma was sitting bolt upright, leaning forward on one fisted hand. "Hayate, come back and sit down. Iruka, you get up there."

Hayate stepped down with a nod, still breathing carefully. He walked slowly back to the shade of the tree. Iruka bounced to his feet with a whoop, but as he passed, Hayate snagged his tanktop. He leaned over and hissed something in Iruka's brown ear before releasing the other boy. Iruka watched Hayate sit, then bounded out into the sunlight. He tumbled into the first series of stretches, all vibrant eager energy. Itachi raised an eyebrow. A match with Iruka was going to be rather tougher, he suspected.

From the first strike, which Iruka blocked solidly, Itachi knew this was going to be tricky. Iruka did not seem to have the reservations Hayate had. It was a good trade of offense and defense. Iruka's strikes were less measured than Hayate's: blocking them made Itachi's arms sting. He was sure some were going to bruise. He was fast and more agile than Iruka...but Iruka had height, weight, and power all in his favor. The outcome was already decided. Itachi was still taken utterly aback when Iruka's flat-palmed strike broke through his defenses and sent him tumbling to the ground. He hit hard and rolled right over, sitting up and gasping for breath.

Iruka looked just as aghast. "Oh. Um. Ooops?" he said, blinking. His eyes caught the sunlight as he tilted his head--Itachi caught a brief flash of blue. "You okay? I didn't mean to hit you that hard..."

Itachi grit his teeth. He knew he was small, but he was not weak. He wished they would stop looking at him--treating him--like he was. "I'm fine," he answered, stiffly, as he got back to his feet and dusted himself off. _"Owowowow...that's gonna bruise, ow..._" he thought, rolling his right shoulder. It was partially numb, mostly stinging, and did not really want to work. Iruka hit hard. Itachi eyed him carefully.

He had heard about Iruka before. Fugaku often came home with files or problems from work. He would complain to the ever-patient Mikoto about his day, and what cases he had worked, what arrests he had made. Itachi had heard Iruka's name before, even seen the boy once when he had visited Fugaku at the police station. Itachi had heard from his father that Iruka was a reckless brat, low-brow trash, an utterly unrepentant rascal. But Iruka looked a little worried, and frowned at Itachi.

"Okay, if you say so," he said, tone clearly disbelieving, as he bounced on his toes.

"I do," Itachi snapped back. He did not want condescension from Iruka, of all people.

"_Oi_, break it up." Genma was on his feet, and sauntering over. "Lemme look at that shoulder, brat." Itachi thought about protesting, but Genma was his new teacher. He submitted to Genma's broad, hot hands feeling his shoulder over. It was definitely going to bruise. "Tch, Iruka." Genma stood back, and shook his head. "Whew. It's getting hot. We'll make today a short one, to celebrate our new brat, huh?" He grinned, eyes heavy-lidded. "Standard scroll-search, twenty minutes. Use five of 'em to brief Itachi. And good luck."

With a grin that dropped a notch into "dangerous," Genma stepped back...and vanished, in a quiet ruffle of leaves and a fine wisp of smoke.

Itachi looked up at his new team-mates. Hayate and Iruka traded glances--exasperated, resigned--and groaned.

* * *

"Scroll-search" meant that Genma had hidden a scroll somewhere on training ground three, and was likely guarding it. Hayate, Iruka and Itachi were to find the scroll, grab it, and make it to the gates of the training ground, all without getting caught by Genma. Iruka cheerfully reported that their earlier team had done it...all of once. Itachi felt a distinct sense of foreboding. Iruka looked at him and Hayate carefully.

"Huh. I think our best bet this time is to pass the scroll off to Hayate. He's really fast," he added to Itachi. "You and I will do our best to distract Genma. We'll do tree-ground search, can you tree-walk yet, Itachi? Anyway, when we find it, Hayate'll run it off, and when he gives the signal--bird whistle, 'kay? When he signals, we'll break and run, too. I'm rear-guard. Let's go!"

The first tree they searched was the great oak at the gate. Hayate went up into the branches, but declared nothing. He dropped out of the tree easily, and the trio headed for the little stand of trees at the back of the training ground, single file, Hayate leading, Iruka trailing. Hayate moved at a long-limbed trot, but Itachi found he could keep pace easily enough. As soon as they entered the trees, Hayate took to the branches, but Iruka and Itachi stayed on the ground. Itachi felt a little nervous, with Iruka prowling behind him. He kept catching glimpses of the older boy in his peripheral vision and it unnerved him.

Though Hayate was in the trees, Itachi spotted the scroll first. It was poised in the crook of a narrow pine branch. The tree was slender--it was short and young, but the first branch was still a good eight feet up. Hayate crouched in the nearest tree--an older maple, and shook his head at them. Iruka scowled up at the sapling, then nodded to Itachi.

Itachi measured the distance. No jumping. He stepped back once, then again, coiling, pressing chakra. It was too high for him to make it walking. He took a running start, holding his breath like he wasn't supposed to. He did not quite make it all the way up to the branch: he had to hook a hand over it and pull. He kicked hard to keep his momentum going, and rolled himself over the branch, free hand grabbing the scroll as he went over. He stuck to the tree once more when he was over, a quick slap of a sandal to keep his fall controlled. He dropped the last four feet and landed in a heavy crouch.

He looked up to catch Iruka grinning at him, bright and cocky and pleased. A glance further up showed Hayate was smiling, soft and surprisingly warm. Itachi glanced down at the scroll in his hand. It was blank, a little water-marked, tied together with rough twine. He looked back up at Hayate, and pitched the scroll up into the air. It spun, caught a ray of sunlight, and with a snatch that blurred in Itachi's eyes, Hayate had it. He smirked at them, and stood on his branch.

Something hit the ground behind Itachi. He jumped forward, startled. Iruka's narrow brown hand closed on his upper arm, and with a pull that nearly wrenched Itachi's already-bruised right shoulder, the older boy snatched him forward. Itachi staggered forward, and whirled as soon as he got his balance back. Genma and Iruka were fighting, trading blows at a goodly pace. Iruka was blocking more than he was attacking, and he looked grim. Genma was smirking, and obviously not fighting seriously. He still had that _senbon_ between his teeth--it glittered as the two sparred under the dappled shade.

Itachi saw an opening, and lunged into it, a high kick that thudded against Genma's flak vest. Genma snapped an arm out, and Itachi ducked under it, rolling with the motion. He dropped into a crouch and spun, snapping out his other foot into the back of Genma's knees. Genma folded over, made a strike of Iruka's swing wide as he went back, and turned the fall into a very neat handless flip. He darted at Itachi, who flung himself upright and into a guarding stance, suddenly frightened. Genma was so much larger and stronger and smirking because he knew it. Itachi dodged the first strike rather than block, leaping aside to the right...and right into Iruka. They went down in a tumbling heap, Itachi with the breath knocked out of him by the impact.

Itachi coughed and gasped and finally managed a breath. He realized Iruka had him by the shoulders, holding him up. Genma was chuckling, trying to hide a smirk with an upraised hand. He stood hipshot before them.

"Nice try. Right up until you forgot you had a partner, Itachi." Genma shook his head, but he was grinning. "A very good try. So good, in fact, I'll call it a day. Well done, brats."

"Thanks, we think," Iruka snorted.

Itachi shrugged off Iruka's hands and sat upright. He did not need help. But oh, his shoulder was going to be so sore...!

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**A/N:** I'm not sure if Genma's being clever or lax in his teaching methods here. I'm sure he'd say clever, but he's definitely biased on that. Anyway! Next chapter: We learn exactly what is the price you pay when you graduate the genuis early. Genma despairs.

FOUR REVIEWS! A great and wonderful thanks to all who reviewed last chapter: **KawaiiIruka**, **Ryo Yuriko**, **Ally Plz**, and **InARealPickle**!

(Welcome back from your hospital stay, **Ryo Yuriko**! Hope you are feeling much better!)

**BURNING DEADFALL IS ON IT'S LAST CHAPTER! DON'T MISS THE EPIC ENDING!** (As the editor, I know exactly what happens. You should all go find out.)

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**For those of who who are interested in a few statistics!** Yes, this is my attempt to guilt-trip more of you into reviewing. Feel free to skip if you never intend to help me. Reviews and critical feedback help me improve as a writer. I am desperately trying to improve. Please help me make this story better. Tell me what you liked, any errors, or even any suggestions for missions or further character developments. Thank you.

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	22. Ch 21: Eyes Wide Open

**A/N: **Whew, it's hot. And I'm tired. And I have homework for Anantomy and Pschycology and English Literature, and I have to clean the car, and tidy up my room and... Bah.

Chapter title from the Goo Goo Dolls' song of the same name. Lyrics below. I don't own the song, and I down own any of the Naruto characters.

_"I wanna take control, wanna make it all mine  
__At least I could kick all down  
__I wanna kick it all down  
__My eyes wide open, I can't see  
__Eyes wide open, what you mean  
__Eyes wide open, I can't seem to be..."_

**Once again, my friends, it's AU!**

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**Chapter Twenty-One: Eyes Wide Open**

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_August 21_

Genma realized just how much he had been taking for granted. He had been given three--in the beginning, he was down to two now--Academy graduates, who had spent a full fours years in school. And now he had Itachi. Itachi was bright, admittedly: but in comparison to Hayate, or even Iruka, he was very rough and unpolished.

Four years in Konoha's _Ninja_ Academy drilled skill and habit into the students, reflexes that could save their lives. Itachi had the beginnings of these. They were not second-nature, not yet. Where Iruka's first instinct was to dodge the instant he thought he saw something flying at his head, Itachi's reaction was still to hesitate and check if it really was coming his way. Genma had sparred with all three of them by now, and found himself pulling his blows drastically when he fought Itachi. The child was tiny, so little.

Both Itachi's fisted hands fit into one of Genma's palms. Genma closed his fingers over those tiny hands and held, staring steadily down at the child. Itachi glared back, ash-grey eyes firm and determined. Genma smirked and let the boy go, his spirits lifted by the sheer spunk in those eyes. Genma might be able to make him into a _ninja_ yet...if only he could figure out how. He was at a loss as how to deal with such a tiny child...eight, only eight, and so small.

It seemed that Iruka, at least, had ideas that Genma did not. It seemed as though the older boy had taken a certain...well, it wasn't exactly a liking...a certain sense of responsibility towards Itachi. That first meeting, there had certainly been further words after Genma had left. Itachi had shown up the next day with a brilliant purple bruise on his cheek, and a thin line of bruising under his chin, as though someone had grabbed the _hitai-ate_ around his neck and pulled suddenly. Itachi now wore his _hitai-ate_ tied to his belt.

The bruising had faded to a thin line of yellow, visible now only as Itachi tilted his head back to glare up at his teacher. Genma smirked, and stepped back to survey all three of his Genin. Pride and annoyance battled within him, because on the one hand, their eagerness was good, but on the other...they were so young and did not know the dangers of pushing themselves too hard. And they had been going behind his back for at least a week now. That was unacceptable.

Apparently, after Genma had officially dismissed them from team meetings, the three boys remained at the training grounds for a few hours more. _Taijutsu_ seemed to be the main focus of their stay--all the boys had shades of bruising along arms and legs. Itachi sported a few odd cuts, like _kunai_ nicks, and Iruka had a blistered burn along his bare right shoulder that looked fairly raw. Hayate's right wrist was badly bruised, and a little swollen. Genma surveyed them all, and shook his head at them.

"First things first," Genma sighed. "Itachi, your father was looking for you. Secondly, don't you know any better than to work in this heat? There's a reason I dismiss you before midday."

"Yeah, but... We're being careful!" Iruka blurted.

"Careful don't cut it when it's nintey-five degreees in the shade, brat," Genma snapped back. He sighed, and rolled his _senbon_ against his tongue. The slender metal tasted bitter, cool in his poison-coated mouth. "You and Itachi start cooling down. Hayate, let me see that wrist."

Hayate came over obediently, if a little guilty. He looked something like a kicked puppy. Genma snorted at him. Hayate's gaze flicked up from his feet, and the boy dared a little smile. There was mischief enough in his eyes, well-hidden though it was. Genma shook his head, and held out his hand for the bruised wrist. It occured to Genma, as he ran careful fingers over Hayate's arm, that Hayate's hands were not that much bigger than Itachi's.

_"Children. They have given me children. How can I...?"_

He shook the thoughts away. "How'd you do this?"

"Fell wrong," was the soft answer.

"It was my fault!" Iruka declared, coming nearer. Both he and Itachi finished with their cooling-down walk. "I threw him from a bad angle. He did really good, though, to only just bruise it. I thought for sure it was broke at first. Scared me to death."

"I think," Genma sighed, dropping Hayate's wrist, "I'm going to start teaching you how to tape your hands to fight."

"Do what?" Iruka bounced up and slung an arm over Hayate's shoulders, nearly knocking the slender boy over. Hayate wobbled and regained his balance by elbowing Iruka in the stomach. Iruka huffed and staggered aside, nearly stepping right over Itachi. Itachi scooted sideways with a tiny flicker of chakra and an ash-eyed glare at the older boy.

_"I take it back, I've got clowns."_ Genma resisted the urge to chuckle. "Come on, brats."

"Where are we going?" Iruka demanded.

Genma merely turned on his heel and started walking. "Come find out."

He grinned as he heard them following after only a few moments of hesitation.

The nearest place they could gets drinks was a small dango stand. The lady running the stall was pleased enough to have customers--not many people were out in this heat. She cheerfully provided them with a pitcher of iced water and cups for all, at a minimum charge. Genma was a tad extravagant with his thanks, but every little bit helped. She would likely remember him and his little team.

"Okay, brats, here's the deal." Genma eyed them all as they stood in the shade of the little sweets stand and drank their water. "When I say you're dismissed, you are. No more hanging around!"

"But it's our off time, and you can't--" Iruka began.

"I'm your teacher. That means I'm responsible for your safety. And working in this kind of heat is dangerous." Genma glared until Iruka shut his mouth again. "Now listen. You will stop meeting after I'm gone, allright? I don't want any arguments about this."

"_Hai_, Genma_-sensei_," Hayate and Itachi answered. Hayate had to elbow Iruka hard before the boy grumbled assent.

Genma sighed. "Now, care to tell me what you brats were up to?"

He got an idea of exactly who was the ring-leader when both Itachi and Hayate looked to Iruka. Genma was not surprised by Hayate's reaction--Hayate was a natural follower, and Iruka's vibrant personality made him the obvious choice for a leader. But Itachi was fairly willful himself, and not one to be easily led. Genma often got the feeling Itachi was giving him a minimum of respect, and only because he was the boy's teacher. Something interesting was going on. Genma needed to get to the bottom of this.

Iruka shifted his feet, and looked very sullen. He glanced up at Genma, then down at his water. Then he looked up at Genma again, and this time his expression was determined. "We're working on team-work. And helping Itachi."

Itachi scowled fiercely, but said nothing. His silence spoke volumes to Genma--he'd already figured out the boy hated admitting weakness or inability.

"Helping Itachi with what?" Genma pressed, after seeing Iruka did not intend to elaborate.

"Y'know, stuff." Iruka fidgeted. "Academy-stuff, like kunai groundwork and chakra control excercises. We were gonna do more tree-climbing today, Itachi's pretty much got the hang of it."

Standing there in the shade, a glass of ice-water sweating in his hands, summer heat pressing down on him, Genma realized he had been neglecting his responsibilities to these children. He was the teacher--it was his job to prepare them. He hadn't even given thought about how to remedy Itachi's lack of finesse, just despaired over ever getting him to Iruka and Hayate's level. Iruka's answer made it ridiculously simple--practise, real experience, repitition. Genma sighed, shut his eyes, and roundly cursed himself under his breath as a fool and a simpleton. These children would never make it unless he he helped them. Not doing his job could get them killed, and that chilled Genma more than the ice in his cup.

He opened his eyes and looked down at them. They were all watching: curious, attentive.

"Tell you what, brats," he said at last. "Meet me down at Kappa's Bend this afternoon--oh, three will do. We'll do a little extra training. Be prepared to get wet."

The smiles and expectant looks between the three caught him off guard. Iruka beamed brightly, Hayate grinned softly, and even Itachi let his lips quirk up. Any trip to the river was a treat in the summer heat. That the promise of more training should make them smile so... Genma had been doing them such an injustice. Had he ever been that young, that eager? He couldn't remember. He'd grown up during a war, had been a soldier since he was eleven. By the time he had been twelve he'd killed men in the dozens. He didn't think he'd ever been as young and eager as these children.

These children he was turning into killers like himself.

Genma forced a smile and wondered if he could do this.

* * *

Iruka was the very first to show up. Genma found him waiting on the shady dock, pulling at the long trailing limbs of the weeping willow. He turned upon Genma's approach, and bounded up to his teacher, all rough-and-tumble excitment.

"Genma-_sensei_! Hey! Hayate's coming, he had to go home and put his sword up." Iruka beamed brightly, his smile very white in his brown scarred face.

"I should hope you're all coming," Genma answered, and smirked. Iruka's boundless energy and enthusiam for life was strangely catching. "I see you're ready to get wet."

Iruka was wearing a tanktop that had several ragged holes in it, and a ragged pair of his very short shorts. All Iruka's shorts were cut-offs, very obviously altered from their various original lengths to a uniform distance that did not come even halfway down Iruka's thighs. This pair was even shorter than usual, and looked rather like the seat was about to wear out at any moment. They matched the shirt and gave Iruka the look of a raggamuffin streetchild.

Genma was also wearing some of his older clothes, and while his Tshirt was ragged around the hems, it sported no outright holes. His shorts came to his kees, as opposed to Iruka's. The only people Genma knew who wore shorts shorter than Iruka's were women of negotiable virtue.

"Of course! You said to! And 'sides, what else we gonna do at the river?" Iruka beamed brightly.

"Feed you to the fish?" Genma suggested idly.

"Not any fish big enough," Iruka protested. "Well, okay, maybe outside the wall, but once the river comes under the wall there's bars to keep stuff out. So, no fish big enough to eat me!"

"It doesn't have to be a big fish," Genma returned. "A lot of little ones could eat you up just the same."

Iruka frowned at this, and put his head to one side, thinking. Genma shook his head. Iruka's head suddenly turned, and his whole attitude changed abruptly. Genma knew who it was without turning around--Iruka only smiled with such welcome for his best friend.

"Hayate! What took you so long?" Iruka demanded, brushing by Genma.

Genma turned and watched Iruka half-tackle poor Hayate. The slight boy staggered under Iruka's eager greeting, but kept his feet and laughed a little, rough and ragged. "Iruka! It's not even been twenty minutes!" Hayate protested, and he was smiling, crooked and real. He glanced up to Genma and nodded. "Genma_-sensei_."

"Hayate." Genma shook his head.

Hayate was still wearing jeans, though this pair was raggedly cut off about mid-calf. As usual, the knees were out. Hayate's tanktop was faded grey, and his head was uncovered. Upon noticing this, Iruka immediately grabbed Hayate and ruffled the boy's dark curls. Hayate yelped and flailed and kicked Iruka in the ankle. Iruka staggered, flailed, and nearly pitched off the side of the dock. A quick grab on Hayate's part kept him out of the water.

Genma rolled his eyes at their antics. Then he waved to the tiny, approaching figure that he could already recognize by walk alone. "_Oi_, Itachi!"

Itachi kept his pace to an easy amble. He was wearing his usual kahki shorts, but had utterly abandoned the high-collared black Uchiha shirt, in favor of a white tanktop. It was a little odd, seeing him not wearing black. Itachi wandered up, something like a cat, as though he just happened to be here on his own, instead of following orders.

Genma shook his head. "Allright. Itachi, can you water-walk? Better yet, can you swim?"

Itachi blinked serenely. "A little," he answered.

That was about what Genma has expected. "Well, today, you learn." He turned, and walked right off the end of the dock. It wasn't far to the water, and he landed without a splash. He walked calmly away from the dock, keeping his chakra in a regular fluctuation. Ebb and flow, like the water beneath his feet, like the blood within his body. Genma matched the rhythm of the chakra to his heartbeat, and turned to face the three children on the dock.

"Okay, Iruka, Hayate. Show Itachi how it's done," he called.

With a whoop, Iruka took a running leap off the dock. He landed without a splash and ran across the water to Genma, turning a cartwheel along the way. He skidded to a halt beside Genma, grinning brightly, widely. Genma shook his head.

"Show-off," Hayate called, raspily, before he coughed.

Iruka merely cheered and jumped up and down. "C'mon, Hayate! You can do it!"

Genma reached over and bopped him atop the head with a closed first. "Shut it, brat."

"_Ittai_! Meanie," Iruka chirped, scooting away.

"That did not hurt," Genma told him, perfectly assured it had not. He had not hit the boy hard at all. Rolling his eyes--Iruka was very dramatic--he turned back and found Hayate pacing calmly barefoot atop the water. The very tip of Hayate's tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth. He looked very intense, before he stopped and flashed a smile up at Genma.

Genma did not see any reason for the concentration. Hayate's chakra control was very good, and as he turned to answer a jab from Iruka he moved very naturally, at ease. Genma shook his head. "Well done, brats." He headed back to the dock. "Any questions, Itachi?"

Itachi gave him a bland look, with a peculiar little twist to his mouth.

Genma would learn in the months to come that twist hid a question that Itachi's pride would not let him ask.

* * *

**A/N:** Whew! As maybe you can tell by the litany above, I'm quite busy. My school schedule is heavy, I have five classes, and two of those are half-term classes, which means double the workload in half the time. My writing time has been pared down to next-to-nothing! I've been dying to write, but haven't had the time. Ouch. This fic may have to go on hiatus, but I'll try my hardest not to let that happen. We'll see! Keep your fingers crossed.

Next chapter! We have fun with little brothers, learn a bit of Genma's past, and watch Iruka flirt with trouble.

**SIX REVIEWS!!** I am floored! A fantastic, amazing, and heartfelt thanks to those who reviewed last chapter: **Ryo Yuriko**, **RandomReviewer**, **Ally Plz**, **InARealPickle**, **RebelGirl666**, and **Jaded Jagged**!

**Ryo Yuriko**: If you send me an Email to my regular address, I will send you your drabble. If you did Email me, then I did not get it. Send me a PM if this is the case.


	23. Ch 22: Gather at the River

**A/N: **MY UTMOST APOLOGIES! I know this chapter is two weeks late! Before you lynch me, please let me explain!

Last Wednesday (the 17th) we woke up and found that our phone-lines were down. Calling the phone company revealed that it was "due to havy rain." (As it was not raining at the time...) It would take until Monday (the 22nd) to be fixed, they said. Ernt, wrong! It took until _Wednesday_ (the 24th!) to get it fixed!

And yesterday...um, yeah, that was my fault. I write as Hayate on the RPG Fallen Leaves, and I got caught up plotting with Drel--who plays Kotetsu--and stayed up until midnight writing, and forgot all about updating. So sorry.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters. But Nayota and Denbei are mine.

**It's AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Gather at the River**

* * *

_August 21_

Iruka flipped Hayate over his shoulder. The smaller boy landed with a spectacular splash. As Hayate floundered back to his feet, Iruka took a moment to watch Genma and Itachi. Genma was up to his waist in the river, soaking wet, coaxing Itachi along with his water-walking. Itachi was doing remarkably well for someone who could take only a few steps and stay atop the water. Itachi was soaked, too--he'd fallen several times.

And apparently Itachi could only just swim. Iruka could not understand that. Genma could swim, Hayate could swim, and Iruka could swim. Swimming was easy!

"_OI_! ITACHI!"

They all whirled to face the bellow. Itachi lost his concentration and plunged into the river. After a moment he surfaced, spluttering and looking like a drowned cat. Iruka peered up to the bank. An older Uchiha stood there, a boy who looked about Iruka's age. He'd been a year ahead of Iruka and Hayate in the Academy. Iruka fumbled for the name. Shu...no, Shi...Shisui! He was carrying a small child on one hip, and looked rather annoyed.

"Shisui-_sempai_!" Iruka shouted with glee. He waved expansively.

Shisui turned to face him and blinked. "Uh...oh. Iruka? And...I have forgotten your name, sorry."

"Hayate."

"Right, right. Sorry." Shisui grinned, then turned back to Itachi. "You! What do you mean, leaving Sasuke behind! If you lost him on purpose I'll tell Mikoto-_basan_ and get you in trouble." He leaned over and set the child down on his feet. "I've got to run, I've got shift at the station. Have fun! Be good, Sasuke." He patted the child on the head and turned to leave.

"I'm good," Sasuke chirped in a treble pipe. He waved after Shisui, then pattered into the dock, little sandals clunking on the wood. "You go too fast, _'nii-san_."

"You weren't supposed to come!" Itachi snapped, as he got to where he could put his feet on the bottom. He frowned up at the toddler. "How'd you get out of the house? If you left without telling _'Kaa-san_ we're both gonna be in such trouble..."

"Nuh-uh! _'Kaa-san_ said it wasn't a team meeting 'n I could come," the child declared, frowning. He plumped down on the dock, and dangled his chubby legs off the side. He looked past Itachi to Iruka and Hayate and Genma, and waved at them. "Are you _'nii-san_'s team?"

"Yup! That's us!" Iruka splashed over. He was on eye-level with the kid. "I'm Iruka! What's your name?"

" 'm Sasuke." The boy grinned. Iruka noted with some surprise his wide eyes were blue--the clear brittle blue of an autumn sky. He also had a dimple in either chubby cheek. "Are ya training?"

"Yes," Itachi sighed. "I can't keep an eye on you, I'm busy."

"Well, it's not exactly training," Genma temporized. "More like...extra practise."

"We can keep an eye on him!" Iruka declared with delight. He liked kids, and Sasuke was kinda cute. "Ne, Sasuke, you know how to swim?"

"No," Itachi answered, right on top of Sasuke's lisping negative.

"I can teach you how. C'mon." Iruka stepped closer to the dock and held out his hands. "And Hayate will help. It's good to know how to swim, right, Genma-_sensei_?"

Genma looked amused. "Just don't drown the bratling. Let's try again, Itachi, you were doing very well."

Itachi gave Iruka bland look. "If you drown him I'll have to kill you," he threatened solemnly, before turning back to Genma.

Hayate waded up beside Iruka, smiling a little polite smile. "So you're Sasuke?"

"Mmm-hmm," the child answered. He smiled back. " 'N you're Hayate?"

"_Hai_." Hayate offered a little smile again.

"Sasuke, you wanna be a _ninja_, right? Like Itachi?" Iruka grinned as Sasuke nodded. "Well, all _ninja_ gotta learn to swim. C'mon, I'll teach ya. It's easy. Lots easier than water-walking. Take off your shoes, though, we don't wanna lose 'em."

"That's what _'nii-san_'s doing," Sasuke declared. "M'kay. I'll do _ninja_ trainin' too." He struggled off his little sandals, then leaned down and slid right into Iruka's arms, perfectly confident the older boy would catch him. Of course, Iruka did.

Iruka grinned. "C'mon, then. Hayate, let's teach Sasuke to swim."

That was rather easier said than done. Like all very young children, Sasuke had a tendency to panic when he thought he couldn't make it. Iruka was going to have several pinch-bruises all up and down his arms. It took a good half-hour for them to make any progress, during which Genma had let the tired Itachi sit on the dock and get lectured on the properties of _chakra_. Hayate waded over to listen. Iruka kept half an ear on the lecture as he coaxed Sasuke to make little half-leaps to him.

"Now, _chakra_'s energy, almost like electricity. Water conducts _chakra_ really well, which is why water-walking can wear you out faster than tree-walking. It'll probably take you a while to learn how to do it without using up so much of your _chakra_. You used it up so fast because you're so young, and your _chakra_ reserves are pretty small. As you get older, your _chakra_ reserves will grow. And when you hit your growth spurt in your teens, so will your _chakra_ reserves. It's actually pretty rare for someone as young as you are to be able to manipulate your _chakra_ so well, brat. But don't get a swelled head." Genma paused.

Sasuke made the splashy leap, half-swimming. Iruka smiled and told him, "Good! Try again, you've almost got it."

Behind them, Genma went on. "Your control is good but it could be better. That comes with practise, though. I'm sure you learn a coupla exercises in the Academy that help you with your control..."

"We do," Hayate offered, softly. "And some games."

"Excellent, brat. But don't do 'em when you're tired, because if you exhaust your _chakra_ too badly, you can go into shock and die, and that's never good. If you have to 'pull' really hard to get your _chakra_ to respond, it's too low and you should stop. Or if your breathing starts coming funny, or your heart starts feeling funny. That's never, ever good." Genma's voice was grim, solid.

Seemingly unaware Iruka was backing up a step every two jumps, Sasuke made a determined leap again. He made two swimming strokes before he reached Iruka, and he was grinning proudly. "I'm doin' it," he declared, a little breathlessly.

"You are! C'mon, let's go show your brother," Iruka told him, grinning to match.

They turned around, Iruka hefting Sasuke up on a hip. As Iruka waded closer to the lecture-group, he proved he had been listening by saying, "Sounds like you know a lot about _chakra_-shock, Genma-_sensei_."

Genma shot him a lazy-lidded look, and smirked. "I should. I actually died from it, you know."

Iruka stopped and blinked. "_Honto ni_?"

"_Honto ni_. Heart stopped and everything. And then the medic restarted my heart and pulled off a _chakra_-split with a friend of mine." Genma grimaced. "Which is never ever fun and rarely works. I'm pretty darn lucky to have survived. Broke out in hives all over, though. That was not fun."

"Hives? That's a pretty mild reaction," Iruka answered. He'd just studied a scroll on _chakra_-shock last week. He knew the side-effects of sharing someone else's _chakra_ were usually severe and often fatal. "You must be as lucky as a starfish."

"Wha'ss hives?" Sasuke chirped, right into Iruka's ear.

Before Iruka could come up with a suitably simple explanation, Itachi intervened. "What you get when you drink too much milk."

"Oh. Itchy." Sasuke made a face. " _'Nii-san_, I kin swim! 'Ruka taught me! Watch!"

He wriggled, and Iruka let him free. With utter determination, and the somewhat stiff swimming posture of a young child, Sasuke managed to dog-paddle his way to Itachi's feet. Genma leaned over and scooped him up before he could grab hold of Itachi's ankles and likely dump him off the dock. Sasuke gave no protest, but just as trustingly latched onto Genma as he had Iruka.

Itachi looked at him, then at Iruka, with the same droll look. Just as Sasuke started to droop, Itachi raised his hands and almost mockingly clapped them, with a little smirk that seemed just for Sasuke. "Well done. Just don't try it in the _koi_ pond, little brother."

* * *

Iruka was the last one to leave, with Genma. They had to walk in the same direction for a bit, but not far. Iruka lived almost right on top of Kappa's Bend. Iruka had lingered because he wanted to ask Genma questions. And as soon as Hayate had gone, Iruka did, because his curiosity was about to eat him alive. Curiosity had killed the cat. It was thus lucky Iruka was not a cat, for he had enough curiosity for one, and none of the caution.

"So, you said you died?" Iruka asked.

Genma paused in climbing up onto the dock, giving Iruka an indecipherable look. "Yeah. Long time ago, though."

"Who'd the medic do your _chakra_-split with?" Iruka swam a lazy sidestroke up to the dock, and got splashed as Genma got out.

"Nosy brat." Genma shook his head. His wet hair plastered itself across his face in a tangled web. He scraped it off. "Raidou. You've met him, he's my neighbor."

Iruka blinked. "Yup. Y'know his _chakra_'s green, too?"

"Do what?" Genma paused in wringing out his shirt.

"Yup." Iruka scrambled up and rolled onto the dock. Flat on his back, he stared up at Genma and grinned. "Only darker than yours. Like, pine-needles in sunshine. Maybe that's why it worked and your _chakra_ network didn't implode. That's what usually happens when they try a _chakra_-split. Of course, _'Tou-chan_'s medical scrolls are a coupla years out of date, but I think they're still mostly accurate."

Genma looked down at him contemplatively, before wringing out his shirt all over Iruka. "Nice to know, brat."

Iruka yelped and then laughed. He was soaked anyway, a little more didn't matter. The dock was warm and dry beneath him, the boards wicking away the cool water from his clothes and skin. Genma's company was always interesting. The young man had a lively nature and a short enough temper, but he could laugh. Iruka honestly liked him. That was not to say he was in awe of his teacher--Iruka was terribly irreverent, and only Hiko-_sensei_ had ever been able to get any respect from him. And of course the Sandaime, but that was a different matter entirely.

"You know, you keep up awful well." Iruka sprawled spread-eagle on the dock, dangling a leg off. His bare foot plunged back into the cool river. Iruka waggled his toes gleefully. "I mean, when I start babbling on 'bout medical stuff. Even Hayate's had trouble keepin' up."

"I'm just special that way, brat," Genma answered, lightly, with a little smirk. "It's getting dark. Shouldn't you be getting home?"

Iruka sat up, and watched Genma put on his sandals. "Well, yeah, but you're not answering my question. 'Sides, not like there's anyone waiting for me."

Genma seemed to pause before he straightened, flicking back his wet hair with a sharp sling of his head. "Well, I'm leaving. Are you coming or not?"

"Only if you'll answer my question," Iruka capitulated, grinning.

Genma merely quirked and eyebrow, turned, and walked off. Iruka laughed and scrambled to his feet. He hopped hastily into his sandals--though Genma was sauntering at a very easy pace--and made a mad dash after the young man. He turned a handspring as he went, just for fun, and caught up with a skipping step. Genma just shook his head.

"You make me tired, brat."

"You're just getting old," Iruka jabbed, and was rewarded for that with a unaimed swat. He dodged, laughing. "I asked--"

"I know what you asked, brat," Genma interrupted, sounding irritated. Iruka shut his mouth and dramatically clapped both hands over it, gaze cocked up to see if he could tease Genma out of his annoyance. Genma rolled his eyes, but smirked. His gaze turned out to the street, but it was thoughtful, and Iruka waited, skipping every so often to keep up with Genma's long-legged strides.

"I was a medic, for a little while," Genma said at last, almost carelessly. "Field-medic, mostly. Did a turn in the hospital for a few months, 'fore they put me back out on the field." He thrust both hands in his pockets, and gave his head an absent toss, swinging back a sheet of damp hair. "It's been a while, though."

Iruka did a little mental calculation. Genma wasn't actually that old...certainly nowhere near as ancient as the Sandaime. But for it have been "a while" for Genma to have been a medic...he must have been at it awful young. Iruka scowled up at his young teacher, who was apparently not meeting his gaze--or anyone else's. That peculiarly distracted gaze made Iruka wonder if the subject was not one Genma wanted to talk about. Iruka's curiousity was spurred on, rather than checked up, by this thought.

"So, you were in the war? Really? Wait...wait...you worked in the hospital? When? Did you ever meet a medic named Tako?"

Genma paused and looked bemused at the barrage of questions. "Tako? I'm not sure."

"He was tall and his hair was dark, and if you met him he probably called you 'squirt' or 'minnow' instead of your name," Iruka recited with glee.

"...the guy who Mizuki's arm back on? He kept calling me 'minnow'...I don't really remember what he..." Genma stopped walking and turned to scowl down at Iruka. "Why?"

"Because he was my _'Tou-chan_!" Iruka beamed. "And I think I remember seeing you, anyway. 'Cept you were skinnier." The memory was blurred and faded over, but Iruka thought it was Genma. A skinny teenager with huge pale eyes in a narrow face, unkempt hair in a lopsided ponytail, under a _hitai-ate_ too large and tied around backwards: a teenager nervous and quiet and helping Tako with a second teenager screaming and bleeding.

Genma scowled at him. His lips and jaw moved as though he had a _senbon_ between his teeth, before he shook his head. "Brat, you beat all I've seen for sheer wierdness." He started walking again. "Isn't that your street?" he asked, pointing in the twilight. The sun was setting, and some streetlights were coming on. Iruka's cul-de-sac, however, had no streetlamps.

"Yup! See you tomorrow, Genma-_sensei_!" With a wave and a whoop, Iruka took off down the darkening street at a dead run. He thought he heard Genma shout something from behind, but he caught none of it.

Iruka's little street was rather busy after dark. But it was busier tonight than usual. Iruka slowed his headlong run to a comfortable trot, and put a hand in his pocket. He fingered the brace of kunai there and wondered what was going on tonight. One the one hand, the street was busy--there was a party going on at one of the houses that, 'till now, had been abandoned. But at the same time there was less activity than Iruka was used to. He was skirting the newly-tenanted house when a dark figure loomed up in front of him. Iruka sank into a fighting stance, then recognized the stooped figure.

"Denbei_-san_, don't scare me, I might kill you by accident," Iruka admonished, only half-jokingly. His heart was still pounding pretty hard, despite his brave front. The old man had given him quite the scare.

Denbei snorted. He smelled powerfully of alcohol and slightly of garbage. He was one of the homeless folk who "borrowed" the abandoned houses on Iruka's street. Before the Fox attack that had decimated a good deal of Konoha, Iruka's neighborhood had been well enough, a quiet section of middle- and lower-class workers. But after the attack, a lot of remodeling and moving had gone on. Iruka's street was now considered one of the slums. He was fairly unperturbed--the change had not been a big one.

"Lisshen, punk," Denbei slurred. "You watch yershelf. Naoya'sh back, and he'sh gotta bone ta pick wit' you and yersh."

"Naoya? The guy my _'Kaa-chan_ hit in the head with a samon when he tried to buy me?" Iruka asked. He had been nine at the time, and recalled it vividly. It wasn't everyday his mother had hit people with her wares.

"Thassh tha one. Rumorsh shaysh he bribed 'ish way outta jail. 'N you'll bet he'll 'memeber you, punk. Tol' all the littlesh ta get outta here. 'N I'll shpread the word. He won't get you withou' a fight from the resh' of ush." Denbei nodded, and brandished his bottle at Iruka. "Tell tha' pretty friend o' yersh to shtay 'way. Now git inshide, punk."

"_Domo arigatou gozaimasu_," Iruka declared, and pulled a very low bow. "I appreciate it, Denbei_-san_"

"It'sh nothin'." But the old drunk looked pleased. "Yer ma wash a real shpitfire. Ush folk here liked her. We'll watch out fer ya. Now git."

Iruka bowed again, and struck out for home at a hurried trot. He was street-wise, as a child raised in the darker parts of a city can be. He knew why Naoya wanted him. He knew the signifigance of the man buying his way out of jail, and why he would hold a grudge against the Umino name. Iruka shivered. The street seemed emptier without the scrounging and scuffling of the nine or so orphans who camped in the abandoned houses. Parents had lived there, once, and the children had slunk away from the orphanges to live where home had once been. Iruka had fought and played with them, and now they were gone. Life changed quickly in the streets.

Tomorrow he would tell Hayate to never visit him save in broad daylight.

Iruka wouldn't let his best friend and blood-brother get snatched off the streets, especially by the man named Naoya.

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**A/N: **Okay! Still very, very sorry about the internet crisis! And forgetting. Next chapter: Confusion! Killing intent! Genma getting furious! FROGS!

SIX REVIEWS last chapter! You guys are the awesomest! Many happy thanks to: **InARealPickle**, **Anaeria23**, **RandomReviewer**, **KawaiiIruka**, **Ally Plz**, and **Lydia**!

**-sempai** "Upper classman," or an older student within the school. Iruka is being respectful, here

**-basan** The shortened form of **Obasan**, aunt

**Honto ni** Really, can be used as question or statement

**Koi** The calico fish kept in ornamental ponds

**Domo arigatou gozaimasu** The very politest form of thanks. Iruka is being super-respectful, here

* * *

Below here is the three-word challenge set to me by **Ryo Yuriko**. The three words were: **eccentric**, **cheesecake**, and **weasel**. Which got turned into: Itachi, pie, and get-well-presents from Iruka. I'm just as confused as you are.

* * *

Itachi blinked.

The bizarre image did not go away.

"Well, aren't you even going to thank me?" Iruka demanded, as thought he had a right to it.

Itachi sneezed at him, and very nearly caught him on fire. Sadly, Iruka knew him well, and danced back out of the range of the sparks. The creation in his hands also survived the tantrum. Itachi felt more peevish than ever. The world was obviously conspiring against him. First, the awful mission during which it rained the entire time, then the gods-awful head-cold of doom, and now Iruka with his dubious gifts of baked goods.

"Still sick?" Iruka asked, blithely. "Well, I guess so. But see! I brought you a get-well present!"

Sadly, shutting the door in his face would not deter Iruka. "Go away," he croaked, and slammed the door shut anyway.

He did not move, resting his head against the door-frame. Sure enough, within moments, Iruka started up that steady stacatto knocking that sounded like demented bug battering against a window. Itachi stifled a groan and sniffed instead. Iruka was so annoying. Utterly, completely, totally annoying. And bewildering. He was also still knocking.

With a half-muttered curse, Itachi opened the door again. "I tol' you do go away!" he managed.

"Well, yeah, and I will. After you take your present!" Iruka answered.

With a cringe, Itachi held out a hand. Deftly, Iruka placed the eccentric creation on Itachi's palm, balancing the aluminum pan easily.

"It's cheesecake! With cherries on top! I know you like cherries and sweets, so I thought you'd like this! I made it myself! I tried to do an outline of a weasel on it, 'cause that's your name, but Hayate told me that was just too silly, and so I just flopped the rest of the cherries on it. See, you can kinda make out the tail right there--"

Itachi slammed the door shut again. Iruka's babbling made him tired. Didn't that moron ever shut up? Well, wait, Itachi knew that already. The answer was no. He sighed, and blinked down at the cheesecake pie in his hands. It looked okay...not like it was going to explode or anything. And nothing was wiggling in it.

Maybe he'd feed a slice to Sasuke or Shisui just to make sure it wasn't poisoned or anything.

But then he'd have to share.

With a muttered curse and a sparky sneeze for Iruka and his eccentric ways and cheesecakes, Itachi marched off to the kitchen.

* * *

Ta-dah! The end.


	24. Ch 23: Beeswax

**A/N:** Today, my friends, was exciting. I hope never to repeat it.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

**It's a bit AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Beeswax**

* * *

_August 27_

By the time the sun was rising, Hayate had been awake and working for an hour. He eyed the pink sky with mixed feelings. On the one hand, as soon as it got too hot to work, they would stop. On the other hand, they weren't quite done. They had another hive to harvest from, and then there was the actual start of getting the honey, and he had a team meeting today and...and he was hungry again.

"Hachiko-_basan_, sun's rising," he said.

Hachiko looked up, tilting her head back. "So I see. Well, we're almost done, child."

She reached down and picked up the boxy top, and set it back on the beehive, covering up the racks of wax and honey and buzzing bees. She worked barehanded, but Hayate hated stings on his hands and wore gloves. They made his fingers a bit clumsier, but it was worth it to not get stung. He leaned over and scooped up the heavy bucket with its load of honeycombs. If he was not careful, he'd tip it over and spill the precious frames into the dirt, and ruin the honey. So he was very careful, and very calm.

Both Hachiko and Hayate were calm, even though the hives were waking up, and the bees beginning to whiz about their ears. They knew that if they were calm, they were far less likely to be stung. And both had been working with bees since they were small. Hayate liked the sound of the bees as they zoomed by, the growing hum of the hives as the bees woke up. As they reached the fourth and last hive, a bee landed on Hayate's veil. He grinned lopsidedly at the tiny insect, and admired the gleam of the morning light off its shiny body. It was burnished gold and inky black with gossamer transparent wings, and it took off again with stirring hum.

Hachiko carried the smoker, and gently puffed the strong-smelling smoke into the hive's lower opening. Hayate set his precious bucket down, and reached over to lift the heavy top off the hive's uppermost box. Immediately, Hachiko puffed the smoke into the hive. The smoke would keep the bees quiet and calm while Hachiko harvested the honey. Unfortunately, it made Hayate cough something awful. He was wearing a mask, and made sure to stand upwind, but it still made his throat tickle. He kept clearing it, trying not to cough, as Hachiko set the smoker down.

Inside the top box of the hive, the honey super as it was called, were rows of frames in which the bees had built their honeycombs. Hachiko gently removed one frame, and gave it a single jolting shake that knocked the swarming bees from it. She handed the frame to Hayate, who took it carefully and set it in his bucket. Hachiko repeated the careful extraction, and gave a second one to Hayate. Then she shook her head, and reached for the cover

"I think this will be our last batch for the year," she remarked. "Unless fall waits a while to set in."

"I think it will," Hayate answered, hefting his loaded bucket carefully. Four frames was an awkward load for a small twelve-year-old. He would be thirteen in three months, and he hoped he would grow bigger by then. The top of his head only came to Iruka's ear, and Iruka was already thirteen. It wasn't really fair--but Iruka had always been bigger.

Hachiko eyed him and smiled behind her veil, but did not offer to help. It was Hayate's job to carry the honey back to the house, and he did. He was very careful, too.

Right outside the kitchen, they stopped and did a quick check for bees hitching rides on clothes and veils and honeycombs. Brushing these away, the two quickly scurried into the kitchen, and shut the door tightly. Hayate set the bucket down, and stripped off his gloves before he reached up and took off his veiled hat. He shook his head, and set hat and gloves on the kitchen counter. His aunt had divested herself of her hat, and taken charge of the bucket. Hayate went in search of a second breakfast. The clock read six-thirty, he noted, as he passed it.

* * *

Two hours later found Hayate running errands before he got to his team meeting. He had a basket of honey and a second of beeswax, and about five different places to visit. The chandler down the street, the sweetshop, the lady who made perfumes and cosmetics, the baker two streets over, the second candle-maker...this was his second trip. The people he delivered stuff to paid in more often in goods than money. For instance, the sweetshop lady gave him a jar of honey-sweets and a bag of cane-sugar to take back to his aunt. The baker gave him a pair of fresh loaves of bread, still hot from the morning batch. Both chandlers gave him a bundle of beeswax candles to take back home.

The morning was already hot, and Hayate was sweating as he came back with his last load. His aunt was hard at work with the honey they had harvested this morning, straining it and getting it ready to put in jars. Hayate put away the goods, tripped over the cat twice, and set to making the third meal that would hold him over until team practise was done. Two onigiri some hours apart was not substantial enough sustenence to spar and fight on.

* * *

Nine o' clock found the three Genin splashing cheerfully in the small pond. Genma arrived ten minutes later, and even Itachi was soaked. It was going to be absolutely blazing hot today--the water felt good.

Genma looked at them all. "Been practising your water-walking?" he asked, smiling around the _senbon_ between his teeth.

"We were!" Iruka declared.

"Until Iruka tackled me," Hayate added. "I think then we started working on _taijutsu_."

"That," Itachi snorted, "was no kind of _taijutsu_."

Well, then, what would you call it?" Iruka demanded, brightly, cheerfully, slinging an arm over Hayate's shoulders.

Itachi seemed to ponder it a moment, before he cut a bland look at Iruka. "Stupidity."

"Ouch! I'm so hurt! Hayate, our team-mate has wounded me!" Iruka sagged dramatically onto Hayate.

Hayate yelped as the sudden shift of weight overbalanced him. Iruka yelped as they went down into a tumbling heap. Even if they were ninja and knew how to fall, it was difficult to do it right when there was another set of limbs in the equation. Hayate nearly got the breath knocked out of him by what felt like Iruka's elbow. He fell into a coughing fit as Iruka rolled off of him, apologizing. Hayate, still coughing, waved a hand at him, just to make him be quiet. Iruka sighed and hauled him upright, which was helpful...though it was kind of annoying to just be manhandled like that.

Genma waited until Hayate stopped coughing. "Well. You're certainly energetic today. And good thing you're all wet. We've got a very special D-rank mission today. We're going to be helping the regular crew of workers clean the debris out from the bridge on Main Street."

"D-rank! Aww, but we were going on C's last time," Iruka complained. He was very loud and right in Hayate's ear.

"And we see how well that turned out, brat," Genma snapped, sounding testy.

Iruka subsided with a "It wasn't my fault," again in Hayate's ear.

Itachi had his mouth twisted up in that funny way he had. He said nothing, however, and Genma looked over his little team. "Well, if there aren't any other questions, we should head off now."

Hayate scrambled to his feet, and Iruka bounced up. They fell into line after Genma and Itachi.

"Oh, and Hayate, I meant to tell you...you know how I said to not visit me at night?" Iruka asked, suddenly, sounding rather serious.

"I remember," Hayate answered, puzzled. "I'll be able to come over early today--"

"No, you won't. You shouldn't visit me anymore. I'll come over tonight instead, that okay?"

"I...I suppose." Hayate blinked. "But why?"

Iruka gave him an indecipherable look. "Your face is too nice."

"_Nani_?" Well, that was clear as mud.

"Well, you're 'bout the right age, too." Iruka shrugged. "Denbei_-san_ and the others can keep an eye out for me, 'cause I live there, but you're outsider, y'know? And I don't think I could protect you all by myself if Naoya tried to take you. So don't visit me anymore."

Sometimes, Iruka's explanations created far more questions than they answered. Hayate turned the words over in his head, made very little sense of them, and shook his head. Water dripped off his hair and ran in tickly trails down his face. "If you say so, Iruka."

"Take him? What are you going on about now, Iruka?" Genma asked, over a shoulder.

"I'm telling Hayate not to visit me so he won't get snatched up," Iruka answered solemnly.

"By who, and why?" Genma paused on a corner, watching the milling crowds for a moment.

"Naoya." Iruka shrugged.

"And why would he be interested in Hayate?" Genma's voice seemed far less casual than it had a moment ago. His honey-gold eyes were heavy-lidded as he glanced down at Iruka.

"Because he's got a pretty face." Iruka shrugged. "And the kids Naoya's been taking are around our age. He won't get me 'cause everyone that lives on my street liked my _'Kaa-chan_ and so they'll stand up for me, so Naoya's afraid to try to get me, even though he's pretty mad. My '_Kaa-chan_ hit him in the head with a salmon once."

"Why would she do that?" Itachi interjected, looking bewildered.

"Because he tried to buy me." Iruka shrugged.

Genma said a very rude word that made both Itachi and Hayate jump. Itachi's ears turned red at the tips, and he gave Genma a round-eyed stare. The young man ignored him. "Iruka, are you saying that this man is stealing kids?"

"Yeah, but mostly street kids, 'cause nobody cares 'bout them." Iruka scowled.

"But what about the police?" Hayate asked, suddenly worried.

"Hayate, you know the police don't ever come 'round my street. At least," Iruka amended, "not while they're on duty. Coupla of 'em have been coming to Naoya's whore-house though."

Genma swore. "Child prostitution is illegal in Konoha. And you-and--" He swore again, and Hayate blushed scarlet. Itachi was already red, even his ears. Iruka looked unperturbed at Genma's foul language. Hayate wasn't surprised--he'd heard Iruka say worse. "You say even the police are...?"

"Yeah. Rumor says Naoya bought his way out of jail." Iruka shrugged.

Genma was scowling, and his eyes were hard and dangerous. "We'll see about that," he said, voice low and snarly. Itachi, nearest him, suddenly shivered and backed away. Hayate felt the chill touch of something slither down his spine and make him feel icy-cold even in the August heat. It made him shiver and he instinctively stepped away from the source--which was Genma himself.

Iruka looked suddenly wary. He spread his arms a little, fingers twitching, and made a subtle step sideways that put him slightly in front of Hayate. Hayate felt grateful--and ashamed for that, because Iruka was always bolder and stepping up to defend him. But Iruka felt warm and safe and Hayate let his friend shield him. Itachi took another shivery step back and slid behind Iruka without any pretense of trying to look unalarmed.

"Don't send any _ninja_ in," Iruka said, with dismay. "Or they'll blame me, 'cause I'm _ninja_. And that will be trouble for everyone, not just me. And stop with the killing intent already."

Genma gave them all a look, and his face was distant, eyes cold and mouth set in a tight line. The chill that emanated from him--killing intent--lingered a moment longer before it dampened, like the man was drawing down his chakra tight and small. The _senbon_ between his teeth rang a shrill high note as his teeth caught it hard. "_Wakatta_," he said at last, but his expression did not change. "Don't worry. There won't be trouble for you, or your neighbors, Iruka.

"You brats get along to the bridge. The crew captain's name is Goro, and he'll tell you what to do. I'll be along in a minute." Genma nodded to them, and raised his hands. With a flare of chakra and a faint misting of smoke, he was gone entirely, leaving the three boys on a sunny street corner, the crowd slowly ebbing and flowing past them with cheerful chatter. Konoha was a hidden village. A _ninja_ vanishing in broad daylight was nothing uncommon.

"Killing intent, _ne_?" Itachi asked, almost tremulously, after a long moment. He was standing a little distance away, looking aloof, but his ash-grey eyes were still wide.

Hayate knew how the boy felt--he himself was shaken and still feeling shivery. Genma had always seemed rather warm, like Iruka, with a ready smile and teasing voice. He did have a temper, but it had never seemed serious. Until now. Hayate wondered if that was what being a _ninja_ meant: if everyone hid such frightening faces beneath their smiles.

Iruka nodded, his ponytail bobbing. "Yup. That was a lot stronger than any of the teachers at the Academy ever demonstrated." He rubbed briskly at his arms. "Wow. I didn't think Genma-_sensei_ could be scary like that."

Hayate nodded and found Itachi doing the same.

"Maybe we should head on," Hayate offered, softly. "And go to the river, like he said."

Iruka nodded. "Excellent idea, Hayate. Forward, my sneaky companions!" he declared, loudly, waving his arms expansively. He marched off. Shaking his head, Hayate followed. He thought he heard Itachi mutter something along the lines of 'stupid' as the boy trotted to catch up with them.

* * *

The river crew was a collection of _shinobi_ and civilians, and they were pleased enough to have a few more helpers. Goro, the captain, looked a little uncertain about the size of the Genin. Iruka quickly proved that they were very helpful, being able to stick to the bridge supports and get better leverage of some of the more stubborn debris. This freed up the older, stronger _shinobi_ to help the other adults. The work was hard, but at least they were able to get very wet and stay fairly cool. The river here under the main bridge was deep, and the Genin were kept busy scooting along the supports. The crew did have a boat, but pulling large tree limbs and the like free from the bridge was tricky to do without upsetting the little flat-bottomed skiff.

The river was lower than usual, and as a result there was more trash and whatnot to be pulled up. They discovered bit and pieces of laundry, dead appliances, lots and lots of fishing line and lost bobbers and hooks, bits of shredded papers, and twice they turned up dead somethings that might have once been animal in nature. Now they were bloated floating carrion that stunk to the high heavens and made some of the crew--Hayate and Itachi included--retch in misery at the stench.

They also discovered live crabs living in the flotsam, and a few leeches, and frogs, and even a turtle. Iruka had just snatched a very large frog from the debris when Genma showed up at last, sauntering along with his usual lazy-lidded look. Iruka charged up to their teacher. Hayate paused to watch with dismay, certain Iruka was about to perform some unusual trick on either frog or Genma.

Iruka thrust the frog up towards Genma with a loud, "Look what I've got!"

Genma flinched back, and a set of _senbon_ appeared as though by magic in his hand. "_Nan de yo_--a frog! Don't you dare point that thing at me!"

"Why not?" Iruka asked, puzzled at the scolding shout. The frog squirmed and leapt free of Iruka's hands. Iruka yelped and lunged after the amphibian, which had launched itself right into Genma. Genma hollered and the frog died a very uncomfortable death, suddenly pinned to the riverbank by several _senbon_. Genma stood several feet back from where he'd started, panting, and glared irritably at Iruka.

"I told you not to point that thing at me," he growled.

Iruka was not paying much attention, instead crouching down and prodding the dead amphibian in utter dismay. "You killed it! Aaaw, man, and it was a big one, too! You got something against frogs, Genma-_sensei_? That was uncalled for, I think, even if it did get away from me! You shoulda seen the turtle we found, he was so cool! But we had to let him go. Hey, if I catch another big frog, could we have frog-legs for a snack? They're really good, my _'Kaa-chan_ taught me how to make them!"

Genma rolled his eyes. "Get back to work, brat!" he ordered, aiming a kick at Iruka.

Iruka snapped up an arm and batted the kick away. "Well, fine, don't be so grumpy!" he declared, laughing, before dashing across the river and up a bridge support. Hayate yipped and slid sideways in his attempt to get out of the way. He knew Iruka probably wouldn't run him over, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Iruka was laughing, mischief bright in his dark blue eyes. "I don't think Genma-_sensei_ likes frogs," he confided to Hayate in a not-so-quiet whisper.

It was so obvious a fact that Hayate smiled helplessly, and Iruka's cheerful chuckle was infectious. Hayate nodded down to the debris still waiting to be tugged away, and Iruka companionably set to work beside him. Iruka hummed a little ditty as he worked, because he hated to be silent. Hayate listened to him hum and smiled. It was a familiar noise, a nice one, and blended oddly with the sounds of the work around them.

The entire crew and the Genin ended their work right before lunch. Despite having the river to get wet in, it was far too hot to work safely at midday. Genma, oddly dismissed his students. Usually, he marched them back to the missions desks with him after a job, and they all collaborated on the report. But instead, he let them all go. He drew Iruka aside before he did. Hayate lurked, anxiously, but Itachi left without a backward look. Iruka solemnly agreed to whatever it was that Genma had to say...then pulled a frog out of his pocket and flung the ill-fated amphibian at the young man.

Genma shouted, Iruka laughed, and yet another frog died a terrible death. Iruka raced away, grabbing Hayate's wrist as he dashed past. "_Hayaku, hayaku!_" Hayate yelped as Iruka's hold snatched on his arm. He ran headlong after his friend, hearing Genma shout angrily after them.

He would ask Iruka what Genma had said later--when they weren't running for their lives.

* * *

**A/N:** Thus we have had frogs and death and killing intent! Next chapter: We skip a great lot of time. And things get set on FIRE. **(FIRE.)**

SIX REVIEWS! Y'all are awesome and so cool! Thanks to: **KawaiiIruka**, **Ally Plz**, **RandomReviewer**, **InARealPickle**, **Lydia**, and **Ryo Yuriko**!

**Lydia** brought up a very good question in her review. She asked me if I was going to include Itachi's betrayal in this fic. The fact of the matter is, I had the entire plot of this fic planned out. THEN I read the scanlations of the manga. And due to very spoiler-y surprises, the entire plot of my fic underwent drastic changes. So, the answer is, there will be upsets of the Uchiha-type in the future plot, and it will be dramatic, and very, very, very much **AU.**

Please look forward to it!


	25. Ch 24: Crimson

**A/N:** Yay! I'm kinda-sorta-on time with this one! (But first there was new CSI and GREG!) And I have finished my half-term class. I am now only doing three classes! More writing time! Yay!

None of the Naruto characters belong to me.

**Warning: **we have skipped approximately two months to this chapter.

**It's AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Crimson**

* * *

_October 9-10_

"Iruka! If you jump in the pile one more time I swear I'll make you regret it!" Genma bellowed.

Itachi brandished his rake at Iruka. "Don't come over here," he warned. "I'm almost done."

"You guys aren't any fun!" Iruka declared. He started vigorously raking the leaves back into the pile he had just scattered to the twelve winds. Of course, in his sudden industriousness, he scattered more than he raked. Genma muttered things about kids dropped on heads and if stupid was a gentic disease and other unkind comments about Iruka's intelligence or lack thereof. Itachi smirked a little, because he knew Iruka was doing his best to get on Genma's nerves. It was, quite clearly, working.

Hayate stifled a cough as he wandered up to Itachi's pile of leaves. "Are we almost--Iruka..."

Iruka merely tossed a wild grin in Hayate's direction and kept raking. Hayate sighed a very longsuffering sigh and went to help. Itachi sighed as well. He tided up his pile of leaves, and glanced around. Hayate and Genma's piles were neat, and the grand lawn in front of the Hokage's tower was clean of all but the very most stubborn leaves. All that remained was to load up the leaves and sticks into bags or the wheelbarrow. Carting the stuff off had been regulated to another team of Genin, apparently, and Itachi was rather glad. It was a long trip outside the walls to the rubbish heap, where things like that were burned. Their team had been there before, carting off trash.

A good deal of the menial labor in Konoha was apparently done by the Genin, Itachi was discovering. Probably because Genin were cheap. Itachi scowled and stalked over to help finish up Iruka's pile. The sooner they got done, the sooner they could go eat lunch, and Itachi was starving. Genma was going to treat them to lunch, because of the day. Today was the day before the great anniversary of disaster. Thus, Team Thirteen was cleaning up the lawn in front of the Hokage's tower, in preperation for the ceremony to be held there tomorrow.

Itachi was too young to remember much about what had happened three years ago--just a fragmented recollection of being hurried away into the mountain safehouses with his mother and the baby Sasuke, and spending a chilly frightened night there. He did remember how the days had been so dark after, shadowed with ash and smoke, half of Konoha razed to the ground and the great forest afire. But that was all he remembered. He thought he might be glad.

There was an air of tension in the village, and many places of business had been closed early today, and would not reopen until the day after tomorrow. Even Itachi's father was not going to go into work tomorrow, and that was most significant. Fugaku rarely missed a day of work, as the chief of Konoha's police force. Itachi frowned at the leaves and twigs he was raking up.

A sudden crackling pop made all four of them jump and look around for the source of the noise. Iruka shouted and pointed. A small, flaming object fell from the sky, and landed right in the biggest pile of leaves--Genma's pile. The entire heap of leaves ignited in a prodigious merry blaze.

Genma swore very colourfully and made a flying leap through Iruka's nearly-finished pile of leaves. The crisp dead foliage swirled through the clear fall air in the young man's wake. His hands were blurring through a set of seals, and the air hazed and trembled as water appeared to douse the fire before it spread. Iruka was right behind their teacher, but it was obvious he wasn't needed. He let his hands drop.

For a moment the four stared at the damp smoldering heap.

"What in the name of--" Genma began.

With a swirl of smoke, a masked ANBU appeared down beside the mound of leaves. Itachi jumped in surprise. He hadn't felt any chakra--but there the guard was. The mask was red-and-black design of a creature that was possibly a rat.

"Oh, so it fell down here," the man said, in a voice that sounded slightly amused.

"What fell? What was it?" Iruka, irrepressible, demanded.

"A squirrel, actually." The ANBU stifled a chuckle. "Triggered one of the traps up by the Hokage's window. They do that sometimes...but they don't often catch fire like that. That was pretty interesting."

"Interesting." Genma sounded a little strangled. The _senbon_ between his teeth worked silently.

"That was so COOL!" Iruka shouted, leaping up and thrusting his fists in the air. "I mean, it was all 'fzzt-ka-PAH!' and then the FLAMING SQUIRREL just fell from the SKY and that was so awesome even if it set the leaves on fire! And Genma-_sensei_, I think you should be in trouble because you jumped in my pile of leaves and you told me not to do it and now we're gonna haveta start all over again and--YEEP!"

Iruka's rant dissolved into a yelp as Genma lunged at him with a snarl. The two raced across the lawn, with Iruka avoiding Genma's outstretched hands by mere inches, Genma shouting threats of dismemberment and humiliation as they went. Itachi and Hayate traded resigned looks. Today had been one of those days.

"Well. I'll leave them to it," the ANBU said, sounding a little bewildered. "Good luck."

"_Arigatou_, ANBU-_san_," Hayate replied.

The ANBU nodded and vanished in the same manner in which he had appeared.

"I suppose we should start again," sighed Itachi, looking at the scattered leaves with resignation.

"We should," Hayate agreed softly, already setting his rake to the ground. "They'll settle down in a moment."

"Or not. Iruka's taken to the trees," Itachi reported, before bending over to work again.

"Genma_-sensei_ will get him faster in the trees." Hayate paused to cough. That cough of his was sounding oddly better, what with the leaves dying and falling off the trees. Iruka ribbed Hayate often enough about being the only ninja allergic to trees, though Itachi never said anything. He thought it was rather crude to tease Hayate about something that couldn't be helped.

Sure enough, the chase ended not a minute after Iruka had scrambled up the nearest ornamental tree. Genma hauled him back over to the almost-finished pile by the scruff of his neck, and set him to work again. Genma looked at Itachi and Hayate. "You two start bagging up the two un-burnt piles. I'll help Iruka."

They nodded, and turned to their task. Itachi preferred to work with Hayate, because he was certainly quiter than Iruka, and shorter than Genma. They made a less mismatched pair. Hayate was older, and more experienced, but he didn't brag or boast about it. To be fair, Iruka didn't either, but he was louder and less patient and more prone to getting into trouble. Itachi sighed and decided that it would be easier for himself to hold the bags open and for Hayate to scoop the leaves in. He said as much.

Hayate gave him one of those mournful looks he was so good at and agreed.

They were almost finished with the first pile by the time Genma and Iruka had started bagging up Iruka's oft-scattered pile. They stacked the bags of leaves beside the wheelbarrow, and loaded the multitude of twigs and small branches into the barrow itself. The hardest part of the job was getting the dry, rustly leaves into the bags. They crunched and crackled and smelled glorious, like spice and fall. The air had that crystal quality of autumn, sharp and clear. It was still warm enough for short sleeves, but it would not stay that way for long. The trees were turning bright and brilliant colours, and shedding their leaves everywhere.

Red spider-lilies were beginning to rear their spindly heads, Itachi noticed. He thought immediately of his mother, and how much she liked those flowers. He would have to pick some and bring them to her when he started for home.

The regular piles of leaves were not as difficult to bag up as the soggy, ashy pile was. They discovered what was left of the very unfortunate squirrel--a rather charcoaled lump that smelled curiously like barbecue. Genma made faces at it as he carted it off to stack the burnt corpse atop the sticks in the wheelbarrow. Iruka grinned at Itachi.

"Least you didn't catch it on fire!" he teased, wearing his oddly sharky grin.

Itachi stuck his tongue out at him in reply. He had been learning the Uchiha's legendary fire _jutsu_, since last week. His father had discovered him water-walking across the _koi_ pond and herding the fish with a long stick, and decided Itachi needed more to do with his time. So, Itachi was learning more and more complex _katon_. He had not quite got the hang of some of them, but he was getting better. Unfortunately, he had also started sneezing sparks whenever he sneezed. Fugaku had assured him that was quite normal. Itachi knew it was--many a family gathering had turned into chaos when someone sneezed at the wrong time and set someone else afire.

As Genma had put it, there was a reason Uchiha were never assigned to do paperwork.

Iruka thought the whole business hilarious and was constantly teasing Itachi about inadvertently setting things on fire. Rather how he teased Hayate about being allergic to trees. There wasn't any meanness behind it...or Itachi didn't think there was...Iruka just teased people.

Hayate sighed. "Iruka..."

Genma looked very pointedly in Iruka's direction and cleared his throat. Iruka stuck his tongue out impudently, but kept working.

Leaves finally gathered up, the team left for lunch. Itachi was absolutely starving. He thought his stomach might be trying to eat his backbone. It felt like it was, at any rate. He and Hayate remained quiet, but Iruka loudly declared his hunger as he cavorted down the street. Genma grumbled, but when Itachi glanced up at him, the young man was smiling a little and toying absently with the _senbon_ between his teeth. Iruka came dashing back, grabbed poor Hayate around the shoulders, and dragged him off at a faster pace, babbling nonstop.

"Must be nice to have that much energy," Genma remarked.

"_Otou-san_ says if Iruka had less energy, his job would be easier," Itachi reported. Fugaku had a rather demeaning view of Umino Iruka. Genma barked a laugh, and smirked down at Itachi.

"Everyone's jobs would be easier if Iruka had less energy, brat. Even mine." Genma shrugged, and turned towards the little ramen stand.

The stand was one of the few businesses that could not afford to stay closed for more than a day. Itachi wrinkled his nose in distaste. Ramen was just rather...common...not really what he was used to. He supposed it was allright, especially since it would make his stomach stop gnawing on his liver, but he wasn't keen on the salty noodles. Iruka, on the other hand, absolutely adored the stuff, and fawned all over Genma with exaggerated delight. Genma bopped him over the head and told him to behave.

Itachi made sure he was not seated beside Iruka. He did not want to get hit with a flying elbow. Iruka had a bad tendency of talking after he had eaten enough, and he gestured madly with his hands when he talked. Right now, it seemed his tangent was on flaming squirrels and how such awesome things could be the next greatest ninja weapon. Itachi tuned the nonsense out after that, sighed, and waited for his food. Ugh, he was sooooo hungry...

* * *

Itachi came home down silent streets. Everyone was getting ready for tomorrow. There were few people out to see Itachi and his bundle of glorious spider-lillies. But as he came to his own street, he recognized the two figures playing in the dust. One was older, and the other much smaller. Upon seeing him, Sasuke broke away from whatever game he was playing with cousin Shisui and came charging up to latch himself around Itachi's waist. Itachi was expecting this maneuver and held the flowers over his head for safety.

"Hey, be careful!" he scolded.

"Welcome back, _'nii-san_!" Sasuke chirped, not at all perturbed. "Shisui 'n me are playin' tops! You should get yours 'n play wi' us!"

Shisui padded up, and smiled down at them. He brushed his bangs out of his face with a hand. "Welcome back, 'Tachi," he said fondly, and reached down. Itachi tried to dodge, but Shisui still flicked him on the nose. "Have fun today?"

Itachi spared a hand from his precious burden of flowers to rub his nose. "_Ittai_," he complained, frowning up with irritation. "No. We just raked leaves. And they got caught on fire."

"Did you do that?" Sasuke demanded, blue eyes wide.

"No. Get off, will you?" Itachi wriggled and tried to dislodge his brotherly leech. "The squirrel did."

"You never can tell a good story right," Shisui said, mock-solemnly, before he grinned. He leaned down and pried Sasuke off Itachi, swinging the toddler into his arms with ease. "Okay. Let's go in and give your flowers to Mikoto-_basan_, and then you can tell us how a squirrel caught your leaves on fire."

Itachi nodded, and winced a little. His head was starting to hurt again. It had been doing that a lot lately. Mostly after he'd been upset, like when Iruka was too annoying or Sasuke was being a brat. But he hadn't been really irritated at Shisui this time...just a little. The ache wasn't bad now. Itachi hoped it would stay little, so he wouldn't have to tell his mother. She would give him some nasty-tasting syrup and make him go lie down for hours even if he felt better. And sometimes the nasty medicine made him sleepy and he hated taking naps. He was way too old to need them and he always woke up feeling sweaty and sticky and all out of sorts.

The flowers were received with much exclamation and the immediate reward of fresh cookies. Itachi felt rather smug about that. But over dinner the headache did get worse, and his mother did indeed force the nasty syrup on him, and made him go lie down right after supper. Itachi went and buried his aching head under the covers and felt ill at the world. But Shisui and Sasuke snuck in and started playing tops, and though he could out-sulk them, he didn't really feel like it today.

They played until it was dark and Shisui had to go home. When Mikoto discovered Itachi and Sasuke having a tickling match, she tried to send Sasuke to bed. The toddler promptly declared he was not leaving his brother. Itachi didn't exactly want Sasuke sleeping with him, but in the end that was the agreement, just to make Sasuke stop wailing because it was hurting Itachi's head. Sasuke had a bad tendency of clinging in his sleep, and Itachi hated it. It sometimes made him dream he was being eaten by an octopus, like the giant slimey one he had seen in the market once.

He didn't dream about octopi or any other cephalopods. He dreamed of darkness, of a demon of flame and fury, of destruction and dead. Of huge firey eyes filled with rage and a _kitsune_ immortal, of a village destroyed and countless dead. He dreamed of the deaths of so very many, so very clearly, and knew he was dreaming. Knew he was dreaming and could not wake UP!

Sasuke ran terrified to wake their parents when Itachi's screams woke him up. Mikoto and Fugaku came hurrying in and succeeded in waking their oldest child. He woke on a strangled sob and stared up at them with terrified red eyes.

At two in the morning, on October tenth, anniversary of disaster, Itachi's Sharingan awakened.

* * *

**A/N:** Now that my classload has been reduced, I can write more! Also, these hooligans have finally got their plot nicely sorted out for me. Thus, the writer's block of doom is out of the way, and more chapters can be written!

However, a call to all of you readers out there. Here's your chance to be active, and not passive! **Ryo Yuriko** and **Ally Plz**'s excellent three-word challenges were creative and amazing. Do you have any situations y'all want to see Team 13 tackle? That's not just for those two: all readers are welcome to offer up mission suggestions. Nothing vitally plot-changing will be accepted, mind, but little everyday situations would be allright.

Next chapter: Another skipping of time, and Genma starts realizing he is in a dangerous and potentially deadly position.

SIX glamorous reviews last chapter! Thanks all to: **WhyMustIWrite** (love your new pen-name), **InARealPickle**, **Lydia**, **Ice Dragon3**, **anon. **(RebelGirl666 in disguise? The "cushty" at the bottom tipped me off), and **Ally Plz**!

**Arigatou** Thank you

**Katon** Fire-type jutsu, a general term

**Otou-san** Father, the proper and formal way of saying it

**'Nii-san** Older brother, informally

**Ittai** Ouch

**Kitsune** Fox spirit, in this case, referring to the Nine-Tails

**Wakatta** I understand

**Spider Lillies** Beautiful spindly red flowers that look nothing like lillies and a lot like spiders on their backs. All graceful curved narrow petals and arcing stamens.

**Cephalopod** The class that squid and octopus belong to. Also cuttlefish.


	26. Ch 25: Falling Faster

**A/N:** Wagh! Writer's block has struck, again. Let's hope it leaves very quickly, yeah? And we've skipped time again, look out!

Chapter title taken from the song "Life On My Own" by **3 Doors Down**:

"Falling faster, time goes by  
Fear is not seen through these eyes  
What there was will never be  
Now I'm blind and cannot see..."

I do not own any of the Naruto characters!

**It's magnificently ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Falling Faster**

* * *

_December 10_

Shiranui Genma was no green rookie. He had been--by a series of misfortunate events--on the front lines of the Third Great _Ninja_ war when he was ten. He'd been on and off the battlefield until he was fourteen. He had served in ANBU from age fifteen to eighteen. He had been murderer and medic and fighter and spy. He had killed and healed and betrayed and come through. He had been lost and captured and tortured and freed. He had been POW and MIA and legally dead. (That was a hassle and a headache, and caused no end of trouble filing for insurance or trying to get tax returns. Especially when records said you were dead and had not turned in any taxes and thus were entitled to no tax returns.) He had been bargained for, he had bargained with, he had seduced and lied and stolen. He was twenty years old, Special Jounin, and he was _ninja_.

His life had been hard, and he was fantastically lucky to be alive. He knew that. He hadn't counted how many times he'd seen a sunrise he honestly should not have.

Aside from a life fraught with danger, his had been a life with paperwork. All _ninja_ knew exactly how much power their files and records had. (Especially if someone listed you as dead when you weren't! Genma still had problems with this six years after the fact.) Konoha depended on its paperwork, and those valiant souls who ran the vast information files. Genma had taken his turn in that set of workers. He knew how it was run. He'd been behind the mission desk before.

Which was why when he got the scroll, and read it over, he thought it was a mistake.

"But this is for my Genin team," he said.

"We know," the desk-Chuunin answered, and said nothing more.

Genma wanted it to be a mistake.

* * *

December had set in with the real snows, deep and heavy. The air was cold enough to hurt on bare skin. Breath hung in clouds. Icicles hung in crystal fangs from every possible surface. Children and Genin and workers knocked them down, but with the next storm more would come. Snow was shoveled and pushed and packed away, but more would come with the next storm. Shinobi and civilian alike were bundled up against the aching cold. Missions were short, days were short, and darkness made Konoha sleepy. Spring and fall were the busiest times of Konoha's work. Summer and winter, with the extreme weather, were times when fewer missions were run. That wasn't to say none were run...but fewer.

Since October, the month in which Itachi's Sharingan had awakened, Genma's Genin team had been getting busier. They had started pulling more of the lowest C-ranks instead of D-ranks. Instead of doing menial tasks like chopping firewood, raking leaves, and shoveling snow, they had started the more exciting jobs. They had been escorts for the patrol couriers; they had escorted three merchants to nearby towns; they had actually been on the Home Patrols, the entire Genin team to replace a single member for a week; they had helped de-trap a training field; they had delivered missives and orders to the Home Patrols, along with an experienced courier; they had even overseen a "fake" spying mission for experience purposes. They had actually even seen combat.

The first fight had been with a small set of bandits besieging their merchant caravan. The merchant in question was Gojyo the potato-farmer, and they had only been taking him and his wagon back to his little village. The three starving bandits had been absolutely no problem for Genma alone to handle. All three Genin had frozen up. Iruka, predictably, had been the one to break first and join the fight, trailing the scared but ever-loyal Hayate. Itachi hadn't actually fought, but he had stood his ground with the potato farmer. Both had thrown rotten potatoes to distract the bandits, who had hardly needed distracting. In the end, the bandits were suitably chased off.

The next few fights had not been near as simple. There had been minor injuries and great scares, as they'd fought on the Home Patrols against an unidentified group of _ninja_, and again with regular prowling bandits. Iruka had gotten himself concussed again, Itachi had spent some time with his wrist splinted up, and Hayate had needed stitches. Genma thought that, for a green Genin team, they had proved their mettle fairly well. He still wouldn't call them blooded, certainly not. They hadn't killed during the fight. Genma and the older ninja had, but not the Genin. It wasn't required of them at this point in their training.

While pleased with their progress, Genma was puzzled about the missions. They were getting more and more C-ranks, without his requests. They were getting more and more difficult, too. And the "fake" spy mission...that was decidedly unusual. Raidou hadn't known anything about it, so Genma had gone to a man he considered something of a mentor. Yamanaka Inoichi had been in ANBU and a squad captain. Genma had served under him for four years. So, to Inoichi he went, with concerns and suspicions blooming slowly.

Inoichi had given him a particularly unreadable look. The man was good at those. "You've not got a regular team, you know," he had said, lowly.

"Well yeah, but--" Genma had started to say.

"Not 'well yeah,' tadpole." Inoichi had snorted. "You've got the youngest Uchiha to ever activate his Sharingan. Think like the clan would. They're going to push that. By extension, they're going to push you and the rest of his team. Do your best to not get yourselves killed, tadpole."

And despite his irritation at the hated nickname, Genma had been chilled. He and his Genin team were pawns in the great clan politics. They would be lucky to survive a game like that. After all, pawns...were expendable.

* * *

Genma snugged his cloak tighter and looked at the three before him. With heavy-duty winter cloaks pulled close and hoods drawn over heads, the three children could have been remarkably short snowdrifts. The winter cloaks were white, mottled for the best coverage in the snow. It wasn't traditional, but it was practical. Genma nodded, gave his papers to the bored team of Chuunin at Konoha's gates, and waited for them to confirm his team as being out. They got the go-ahead, and the team trudged along the sludgy road. The road was only their path for a few feet, until the trees began As soon as they did, the _ninja_ were clear of the snow and making fantastic time along the tree branches.

They ran in tight formation, all bunched together. Genma led, with the three children close behind. They did not run single file, but in a slightly-shifting group. Genma led for quite some distance out of Konoha, before he signaled them to a stop and led them down to the forest floor.

The snow was only a light dusting in the depths of Konoha's great forest. The branches above, in the canopy, were loaded with snow, but little enough of it drifted down to the forest floor. Genma waited until the three Genin had drawn near, huddled against the cold, and curious. They had thrown hoods back, warmed by the run. Genma looked down into their bright eyes and took a slow breath. It went against his training, but he had to do this. He could not let these children walk headlong into the fire without letting them know.

The scroll in his vest pouch was not so heavy in his fingers. It was deceptively light. All their lives hung in gossamer threads around the scroll and its information.

"I am not supposed to tell you this," he said, and watched their faces. "But I can't...I can't let you run this mission without giving you the full brief. You're _ninja_."

"What?" Iruka demanded, into the silence, but even he sounded a little unsure. "What is it?"

"This is not a C-rank." Genma clamped his teeth, but he had no _senbon_ to bite. "This is a kind of retrieval mission we haven't covered yet. So listen closely, brats."

Your life depends on it: that went unsaid.

"We will be traveling to the target's estate, and will meet our contact. Our job is to retrieve a set of documents from the target's office. We will do this, and get out, without being seen. The target must not know that Konoha was involved at all. Obedience is absolutely necessary on this mission. If I give you an order you obey it and no hesitation. Am I clear?" Genma demanded.

Iruka tossed him a salute. "Clear as crystal!"

Genma grit his teeth at Iruka's flippant tone and gesture. This wasn't...it was serious, they might well be on their way to getting themselves killed through faulty mission assignments and stupid clan politics. Hayate, probably seeing his teacher's agitation, hissed something in Iruka's ear and elbowed his friend.

"We understand, Genma-_sensei_," Hayate said, softly.

"If it's not a C-rank," Itachi piped up, "What is it?"

"B-rank," Genma answered, grimly, and watched their eyes widen.

They weren't stupid. They knew why the missions were ranked, and what ranks of _ninja_ took what missions. Even Iruka looked startled now, and they all looked up at Genma. He wasn't sure he liked that look: there was too much of trust in him, too much certainty that he would answer everything. He shivered--it was only the cold--and glanced away, looking up at the hidden, overcast sky. He heard, for a moment, hissed words going on between the three kids. He scanned for forest, curiously catching bits of words and the rising and falling tones. He could have listened in, but he did not. He waited.

"D'you have any extra instructions? Y'know, 'fore we get there?" Iruka asked at last, and he sounded determined, maybe confident.

Genma looked back, and had to smile, if only a little. All three of his Genin had their chins lifted, looking very determined. They would learn that determination wouldn't save them...but it might help them survive. Genma nodded. "Other than what I already gave you?" He let them hesitate over that, then went on. "Yes. Here is the Intel report that came with our assignment. We're going to look it over, you are going to memorize the maps, and then we're going to move on. We've got a limited time-frame here."

"Why?" Itachi interjected, surprising Genma.

Genma blinked. "We have to meet our contact at a certain time." He never thought about making sure he got to a place on time. He was so used to the idea of meeting contacts, running within schedules, that he never really considered it anymore.

"How come?" Iruka demanded.

Genma actually had to consider how to answer that one. "Well, if you have a time schedule, it's easier to make sure you and your contact meet. Also, they might have limited time to meet you--they might be a plant in a household, or a business, and might not be able to stay out for long." The questions were good. But time was short. He unfurled the scroll.

"This is the map of the compound we will be infiltrating," he told them, and handed it to Iruka, who stood in the middle. "I want you to look over that now, and do your best to memorize it. We might not have another chance to look at it."

Iruka met his gaze, then looked down at the map. He had to hold it at an angle for Itachi to see. Three dark heads bowed over the parchment. Genma watched them, and felt pride and apprehension war in his chest. They had the makings of good, solid _ninja_. But they were young, green as the leaves. So inexperienced. They wouldn't have the split-second reflexes honed into them, reflexes that might be the only thing so save their lives.

Genma forgot that he had been very like them, once. He had been _ninja_ so long, the habits of killing and evasion were natural to him. He had forgotten that once, once he had been greener than they, a half-trained child on the battlefield. He had forgotten the trials of fire and pain that had ground reflex and honed potential into him. He did not look at them and see himself. He looked at them and saw inexperience and doubt. But he also saw the raw determination in their eyes. That gave him hope. They might survive.

He wasn't sure he could take these children dying. Not after so many had died under his hands.

Besides...something about them...they grew on you, after a while.

* * *

Genma knew their contact had been expecting a pair of Chuunin, at least, if not Jounin. The way her eyes widened when she saw him and his team spoke volumes about her shock. Genma's heart sank even further. If she was that surprised, then their chances were slimmer than he had first thought. He gave her the right code, grimly. She answered, but the first thing she said after that was hardly professional.

"Why did they send Genin on this mission?" she demanded.

"Because we're just that awesome," Iruka replied, with one of his best sharky grins.

Hayate elbowed him, and Itachi kicked him in the shin, all without taking their gaze from the woman. Iruka coughed, but it did not wipe the smile off his face at all. Genma sighed a tight little sigh. The lady sighed a bigger one, ran her hands through her dark hair, and turned a grim look onto Genma.

"Your best chance at infiltration will be tonight, from six to eight. At eight, the night-guards will come on, and it'll be too difficult to get in or out without bloodshed. You are to kill as few as possible: optimal outcome is no casualties at all. After this meeting, I will not be able to help you at all. The papers are in the safe in the office, which should have been marked on the map."

"It is," Genma answered. "Have the guard-routes changed from what they gave us?"

She shook her head. "Not knowing what they gave you, I can't say."

Itachi pulled the map from a pouch--he'd had it last, for memorizing it while they waited for their contact to appear. He handed it solemnly to Genma, who spread it out for the woman to see. She leaned over it and began tracing routes with a fingernail. Genma stopped her, and held the map lower, so his Genin could crowd around and learn the routes, too. She looked unsettled, but kept on. Genma didn't blame her. He was uneasy about taking these children into a delicate situation like this.

The target was, in fact, allied with Konoha. Several delicate documents had fallen into his hands, however, and Konoha wanted them back. Thus, the infiltration and theft. However, if the target learned of Konoha's involvement, he would break with the hidden village. The loss of such a politically and financially important ally would be a severe blow: but those papers would cause a greater disaster if left in his hands. Genma did not know exactly what was in the documents, only that it was his team's job to get them, and that it was worth risking such an ally. He did not like that a Genin team was sent on such a tricky mission, loaded so heavily with politics. Either Konoha's ranks of shinobi were lower than he had thought, or the interplay of clan politics moved faster than he had thought.

Either way, their chances did not look good. Genma grit his teeth. There was nothing for it. They had to keep going.

* * *

**A/N: **I despise writer's block. As for what happened to Naoya: That will be addressed in a later chapter! But not next chapter. Next chapter, we have sneaky darkness and disobeying orders! Iruka is very naughty.

SEVEN REVIEWS! See me jump for joy! Fantabulous thanks to: **WhyMustIWrite**, **Ally Plz**, **InARealPickle**, **RebelGirl666**, **Ryo Yuriko**, **Lydia**, and **Cha Cha1**!

**POW** Prisoner Of War

**MIA** Missing In Action


	27. Ch 26: Fly By Night

**A/N:** Wah, it's wet and cold tonight! And promises to stay that way. Oh dear. I hope my strawberries won't be hurt by it being so chilly. I mean, they shouldn't, it's not freezing, but...

I wrote a whole chapter today, and am working on a second! Plot is happening, folks!

Chapter title apparently does not mean what I thought it meant. Apparently, "fly-by-night" is a term referring to short-lived businesses and traveling salesmen. **I** got the idea from a beautiful book, Fly-By-Night, by K. M Peyton, which is about a girl who buys a green-broke pony named Fly and renames him as Fly-By-Night. Very odd and sweet book, quite British.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

**It's definitely ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Fly By Night**

* * *

_December 10_

Iruka crouched right up next to Genma, practically under the man's cloak. On the other side, Itachi was under Genma's cloak, snugged up beside him. Hayate was pressed so close Iruka could feel his friend's heart beating. It was faster than usual, matching Iruka's. They were nervous, but ready. They would do this.

The plan was surprisingly simple. They would enter by the side-door of the building. They would go through the servant's hall, down a second back hallway, through a third main corridor, and right into the office. Genma actually did not intend for them all to go into the office. He would station them at the corridors: they were to hide on the ceiling, behind a _genjustu_ of shadows. Hayate would be at the servant's hall's entrance. Iruka himself would be in the back hall. Genma, though the most experienced, would be stationed in the main hall. And Itachi--he would be the one actually getting the papers.

The main hall was more likely to be heavily guarded, Genma had explained. Also, the office flooring was a special kind; nightingale floors. They would creak if not walked on just right, and alert the guards. Genma had admitted, a little sheepishly, that he had never mastered walking on such a floor. Itachi, very calmly, had volunteered that his family had such floors in their house. Genma hadn't liked it, but had re-arranged the plan. And there it was.

Iruka was excited. He couldn't wait to start. It was a challenge, it was dangerous, and he couldn't wait to begin. He wasn't really worried, not even about Itachi. He was an utter brat, but he was good. If he said he could do it, he could, and that was all. Even after his Sharingan had activated, he didn't brag or boast or lie. He'd gotten a little friendlier, after his bloodline had showed up. Mainly because Iruka was one of the few outside the Uchiha clan--besides a medic--who could master the little trick that turned the Sharingan off again.

The hiding place on the roof was cramped. It would have just barely fit two full-grown men. Three kids and one slender man was a slightly better fit, but not by much! If Genma moved without warning, he'd probably knock over both Itachi and Iruka.

But Genma wasn't moving, still as the stone they crouched on.

Iruka couldn't help fidgeting. He hated being still. He had the edge of Genma's cloak in his hands, and was worrying the tough fabric with his fingers. Beside him, Hayate was still as Genma, but more nervous. He kept tapping the candy in his mouth against his teeth. This close, and this quiet, Iruka could hear the habit easily.

Genma nodded abruptly. "Now," he breathed, and eased out of the hiding space. Itachi swept out in his wake, and Iruka and Hayate followed a mere step behind. Iruka's heart thrummed excitedly, and shivers of anticipation thrilled over his skin.

Down the side of the building they went, in single file. They went quickly, using chakra for speed and balance. Iruka was aware that Genma was covering them all with _genjutsu_. He could just feel the man's _chakra_, flared just so. Iruka could only barely sense it; he had only noticed the spike because Genma had begun the illusion while crouched and waiting in the hidey-hole. Iruka didn't know what kind of illusion it was. But it was _genjutsu_, he was sure.

Down the wall, like beads on a string, dropping behind the ornamental camellia bush beside the servant's door. Their contact had left it unlocked. Genma slipped forward, cat-like, utterly silent. Iruka shivered to see him move. It was trained grace and natural agility and death given form. With no more sound than the falling darkness, Genma delicately tried the door. It swung open beneath his hand. Iruka waited impatiently as the older _ninja_ slipped inside. On either side of him, Itachi and Hayate crouched, their breathing soft rushes in Iruka's ears. He could still hear the sharp silence of the winter night, the rapid beat of his own heart.

It seemed like hours--though in reality it was only moments--before Genma re-appeared, silhouetted in the dim light. He beckoned, and Iruka nearly bolted from the bushes. But no: Itachi went first, then Iruka, and last Hayate. Genma had been very clear on that. They were to obey his orders to the letter. Iruka knew better than to disobey on a mission. But he was so excited, so ready! They could take on anything, especially this mission, with all its lure of a forbidden rank. They were Genin and on a low B-rank, and Iruka knew they would prove their worth.

Down the bare hall they went, booted feet silent over the wooden flooring. The hall was narrow and had dirt tracked in. Iruka could feel it, gritty beneath his shoes. They stayed close to the wall, all in a row, following Genma like goslings after the mother goose. The mental image struck him as horribly, horribly funny, and for a moment it was all he could do to breathe without laughing. Itachi cast him a wild-eyed look over his shoulder, but Iruka grinned and waved him on.

The first doorway, narrow as the hall. Genma eased the door open, gently, and seemed to vanish silently through it. The three waited again, though it was hard. Iruka clenched and unclenched his gloved hands beneath his cloak. The oiled leather would not squeak, and his cloak hid the motion--the cloak now in mottled shades of grey, breaking up his outline. The thick winter cloaks were reversible, in shades of grey and white. Iruka thought they were the coolest thing ever. He knew, however, that if he moved too quickly, the cloak would flash open, and the white lining was very eye-catching.

Iruka wasn't very good at moving slow, but he would try his hardest.

Hayate was still as stone beside Iruka, and so was Itachi, but he knew they weren't calm. He could just hear Hayate clicking his candy softly, and he could see Itachi's eyes. The boy was still but his eyes were almost glowing, red-shrouded grey, like a live ember beneath a film of ashes. His Sharingan was moments away from activating.

Iruka leaned gently over to touch Hayate, to make him stop tapping his candy against his teeth. As he did, Genma slipped back through the door. He spread his cloak minutely, and against the glowing white lining his hand curved scout-sign. _"Two come. One, corner, _genjutsu_, wait."_

Scout sign was precise, but lacked personal names. They didn't need personal names, though. They had been over the plan enough. Itachi and Iruka slid away from the wall, as Genma let his cloak fall closed again. Hayate followed, but Iruka felt it when Hayate's _chakra_ flickered up from his careful, close hold. Up the wall Hayate went, to crouch on the ceiling in the corner nearest the door. Genma waited to move on until Hayate cast the correct _genjutsu_. Iruka was impatient. They had all been able to use the simple shadow-cloak illusion for months now.

As soon as Hayate had faded from sight, Genma turned around and ghosted forward. He moved with barely a sound. Not even his boots squeaked or tapped on the floor. Itachi's footfalls made the occasional noise, and Iruka did too when he tried to go fast. But they were _ninja_ and the sounds were very soft. Down the second hall they went. This was also narrow, but far cleaner than the first. The floors were polished and, in the dim light coming from the doorway ahead, looked slick.

Genma stopped them before they got into the dim rectangle of light coming from the half-opened door. It seemed the main hall beyond had a lamp or two still lit, probably for the guards' benefit. Genma gestured them up against the wall, and eased forward again. Iruka worried his lower lip with his teeth. This would be as far into the house as he would go. This was his station to stop, to watch and wait; to keep the way clear and be available for backup.

He didn't want to sit and wait! He wanted to go with them, all the way into the office and steal those important papers! He hated waited, hated being still.

Itachi shifted, just a little, and Iruka thought of Hayate. Guilt poked him as he realized Hayate would wait, patient and still, for as long as it would take. Iruka should do the same. It was his job. He glanced down at Itachi, and resisted the urge to sigh. He would wait...but it didn't mean he liked it! No, he prefered the rough and gritty work of the patrols to all this skulking around in the dark. It was terribly exciting, but the waiting...?

As he resigned himself to his part of the mission, Genma came slithering back. He didn't bother to fan his cloak this time. He just pointed, silhouetted in the dim light. Iruka nodded, and coiled his _chakra_. Up the wall he went. It was a struggle to keep his _chakra_ tiny and use it, but he could do it. He crouched on the ceiling, using bits of _chakra_ to stick his cloak down, and folded his hands through the signs. It was a little harder than he had anticipated to stay stuck to the ceiling, keep his _chakra_ small, and cast the _genjutsu_ all at once. But he could do it.

He, of course, did not see the illusion hide him, but Genma nodded. Then he beckoned to Itachi, and the two slipped away. Iruka was surprised by the sudden tendril of anxiety that uncoiled in his stomach as the hem of Itachi's cloak vanished beyond the doorway. He was alone in the dim darkness. He was in a place he didn't know and he wasn't supposed to be in. Earlier, the thought had thrilled him. Now it made his heart beat faster for a different reason.

_"Stop being stupid!_" he told himself. _"You're a _ninja_! Act like one!"_

But every mission before, they had all four been within sight of one another. Now he was alone in the darkness, trusting that everything would be okay. That everyone would do their jobs and obey the plan. Suddenly, Genma's drilling insistence that they memorize the map and the orders and the plan didn't seem so unreasonable now.

Iruka shivered a little, because pulling his _chakra_ down so small made him cold.

It wasn't because he was worried or afraid.

* * *

Keeping time was difficult, because he didn't have any outside source to track the minutes spun away and lost in the darkness. He tried to keep a count in his head, but he wasn't sure how accurate it was. He lost track of the numbers when he heard a slow, steady pacing that was not _ninja_. Iruka's heart thrummed up into his mouth as he realized the guard shift had changed.

The heavy tread paused at the half-open door. Iruka almost held his breath. His hands itched for the reassuring weight of a _kunai_. The guard rumbled in a rough, deep voice, "careless trash. Left the door open."

The dim light narrowed into a thread-thin crack as the guard drew the door closed. Iruka shivered with the urge to move. But here was his spot. He was to wait, no matter what. Genma's instructions had been clear and firm. Iruka strained his ears to hear the heavy footsteps, lightly muffled by the door. Down the hall the measured footfalls went, a man on an errand without a hurry. Iruka waited until he could no longer hear the footsteps.

And then, he moved. Across the wall, sliding down in increments, ready to bolt back to the safety of the ceiling-corner. The feel of adrenaline and danger thrilled over his skin like water currents. He wasn't exactly defying orders. He was going to wait. But he wasn't going to let their escape route close up.

Iruka touched down gently on the wooden floor, heart pounding dizzily. He felt wired and alive, ready to take on the world. Careful fingers touched the door, closing softly on the metal knob. In achingly slow motions, he turned the latched knob. With a sliding, silent steps backward, he drifted the door open, imagining the push of air currents on a door unlatched and loose. He tried his best to imitate that.

When he had the door halfway open again, he let go. He backed up towards the wall, before he dared turn and make for his corner again. Up and across the wall...and as he crouched down, he grinned so wide it hurt his face. He'd danced on the borderline of disobedience, and he hadn't been caught. Euphoria ignited the tangle of fright and bravado into a thrilling burn through his veins. He clenched his hands and grinned into the darkness, wide and delighted and sharp.

His grin hadn't faded one whit before he caught the feel of _chakra_. He recognized Genma's cloaking _genjutsu_ immediately. His heart thudded up into his chest.

The illusion was set to recognize him, too. That was the only reason he saw the two cloaked figures ghost through the door. Genma was not in the lead--he was behind Itachi, according to the plan. Iruka waited until Genma signaled him, then let his own _genjutsu_ fade and slid down the wall to join them. He took his place in front of Itachi. Down the hall they went. It was almost alarming, being in the lead, even through they were only covering a short distance and had come this way not long before. Iruka couldn't stop grinning. His cheeks hurt but he was so excited.

Back down the hall, and through the open doorway. Genma's signal called Hayate down. He moved to stand in front of Iruka. Single file they went out the door, and headed up the wall where they had come down. Genma would stay for a moment and shut the door, but the Genin were to go. As soon as they reached the rooftop, they changed formation again: Hayate still led, but Itachi and Iruka swapped places. From the wide red eyes that glinted at him in the dark, Iruka knew Itachi was just as excited. Though he was dying to ask about the papers, Iruka did not say a word. Genma had told them to be quiet--and besides, Itachi's crimson eyes held too much triumph for the theft to have failed.

Itachi fanned his fingers through signs, weaving the final _genjutsu_ of the night. Young as he was, his illusions were just as good as either Hayate or Iruka's. Itachi had a natural flair for the art, and his would be the one that hid their flight.

As the illusion fell around them, Hayate nodded. The three left the rooftop in a flare of _chakra_, from roof to tree to roof again. Their pace was fast, but not panicked. They were sure of their success, following the plan faithfully. They would return to the little neat inn on the outskirts of the town, and slip in through the window to their room. There they would wait for Genma to return. The man would only be moments behind them. And once he got there, they would all four leave for Konoha--if the papers had been collected, that was.

Iruka was certain of it, and couldn't stop grinning.

Well, right up until he caught a moth in the teeth. Then he stopped grinning, allright.

* * *

**A/N:** My oh my! Excitement! Next chapter is not nearly so exciting. Just bland filler, I'm afraid, setting the scene for more fun. Please don't get too bored. But after that, the pace picks up and plot happens. I swear. Next chapter: Uchiha genealogy, snowstorms and ice, and a cameo appearence from our favorite blonde orphan!

SIX REVIEWS! Amazing! A heartfelt thanks goes out to: **InARealPickle**, **Ally Plz**, **WhyMustIWrite**, **Lydia**, **Ice Dragon3**, and **Ryo Yuriko**!

**Nightingale floors** These do exist, and if you look up the Wikipedia atricle, it has a recording you can listen to. Sounds beautiful!


	28. Ch 27: Home Again, Home Again

**A/N:** Whew! I'm working hard, but things have been a bit crazy lately. But yesterday, we dissected a sheep brain in anatomy lab! How cool is that?

Chapter title taken from the popular children's rhyme:

_To market, to market, to buy a fat pig  
Home again, home again, jiggity-jig  
To market, to market, to buy a fat hog  
Home again, home again, jiggity-jog  
To market, to market, to buy a plum bun  
Home again, home again, market is done_

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

**From here on out, it's MASSIVELY ****AU****! Take warning! We're now diverting from the Naruto canon completely!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Home Again, Home Again**

* * *

_December 30_

"I'm hungry," Itachi muttered.

Hayate could tell the comment was more to himself than either companion. So he said nothing, merely cupped his hands together and blew into them, warming his fingers. Iruka, on the other hand, turned and blinked at Itachi.

"Didn't you just eat?" he demanded. "You're a bottomless pit for food."

Itachi bared his teeth in a quick grimace, and held his hands nearer to the fire. "Shut it."

"Does being cold make you cranky, too? 'Cause I know you being hungry makes you cranky...."

From the quality of Iruka's beginning, Hayate knew he was about to go off on a long tangent. Hayate was cold and sleepy and loved Iruka dearly, but didn't want to hear it. Iruka's ramblings made him more sleepy than the cold did. "Iruka, shut up," he sighed.

Iruka turned to him now, blinked, and promptly hugged him. "Ooof!" Hayate protested, and coughed.

"_Gomen_," Iruka chirped, but didn't let go. Hayate sighed, thought about wiggling to get away, but instead went limp and let Iruka hold him up. It was just easier. And Iruka was warm. That was why he was sitting in the middle--he was the warmest.

Itachi sighed. "_Domo_, Hayate. I was about to clock him in the head with my _tonfa_."

"But that would have been mean!" Iruka declared, loudly, right in Hayate's ear.

"Ow, and you'd deserve it. Shut up." Hayate twisted a hand around and prodded Iruka in the ribs. Iruka squirmed but didn't let go.

There was silence, for several moments, before Itachi sighed and got up. He went over to where their packs and bedrolls lay and started rummaging through his pack. He returned quickly to the fire, a granola bar in hand, and mouth already full. He flopped down beside Iruka. Cold made Itachi surprisingly casual about personal space. Given ten minutes outside, Itachi would be up under Iruka or Hayate's cloak with them, shivery and tiny. Especially now, with the wind howling strange notes outside, driving snow with all the force of a whip-crack into face and eyes.

The three Genin were tucked safely away into the cozy North-post-house on Konoha's Home Patrols. They had been charged with keeping the fire up, and the place warm, while Genma and the other two senior _ninja_ patrolled. The storm was too fierce for the children to be out, or so the captain had declared. Though they were out here in place of a pair of agents, they were not exactly superior stand-ins. They had been delegated to house-keeping duty.

Hayate honestly did not care. It kept him inside and warm. Strangely, now that Iruka was warming him up, he was feeling more awake, instead of sleepy. On the other side of Iruka, Itachi munched happily and darted quick fingers after crumbs. Itachi was almost constantly hungry, especially as it got colder. He nestled up against Iruka, licking fingers and tugging apart folds in his clothes in search of lingering crumbs. Iruka laughed at him. Itachi stuck out his tongue, all quick defiance.

Hayate sighed at them both.

"So, think we'll be stuck here for the new year?" Iruka asked. "I mean, it's storming pretty bad."

"I hope not," Itachi grumbled. "I don't want to be stuck with you."

"Ah, me neither, if you're going to be so mean to me," Iruka replied, putting on a ridiculously fake pout. "I don't know how Genji-san can be your uncle, because he's really nice!"

"Genji-jisan isn't really my uncle. He's my third cousin, twice removed, on my father's side." Itachi sighed, and nestled closer to Iruka, holding his hands out to the fire again.

"Eh?" Iruka demanded. "What...how...?"

"I'm not explaining it to you." Itachi sighed with exasperation.

"I thought Kaika-san was your cousin? And....Shisui-sempai?"

"_Chigau_, you're half-right. Kaika is my cousin. First cousin, on both sides. But Shisui is my second cousin, on my mother's side." Itachi flapped a hand. "Uchiha genealogy is really complicated. There's just so many of us."

"I'll say! How can Kaika-san be your first cousin on both sides?" Iruka demanded. "Isn't that inbreeding or some-such?"

"The Uchiha do not inbreed," Itachi sniffed. "My father and his are brothers, and my mother and his were twins. Simple as that."

"....agh, my head hurts." Iruka shook his head. "I give up."

"_Ii desu_," Itachi returned, with a little sharp grin.

The door to the little post-house opened, letting in a sharp biting gust of cold wind. All three Genin jumped, startled by the chill. Hayate turned and watched the three older _ninja_ hurry in. All were bundled up thickly against the cold, and had bits of snow caught in folds of clothes. Genma pulled down his scarf and shook his head. "Wow, it's chilly out there," he declared. His face was reddened from the cold.

"Chilly. Genma, you're crazy," declared Jin, the grey-haired veteran. This had been his post for years without end, to hear him tell it. He was divesting himself of the first outer layer of his wrappings. "Cold enough out there to freeze a bear solid. But that storm'll pass on soon, and our reinforcements should be here by tomorrow night, latest."

"That means you'll be home for New Years, boys," Genji chirped, emerging from his voluminous cloak. He was a spry young man, cheerful and with features remarkably similar to Itachi's. His hair was in a short thick braid that ended between his shoulderblades.

"Yay! Are you sure? How do you know the storm's stopping? Can you teach me how to tell? Ack, you're all cold, Genma, your hands are blue! Give'm here!" Iruka bounded up, throwing questions and exclamation points everywhere. He flicked his hands through a set of signs and caught both of Genma's in his, chakra flaring briefly. Genma flinched--an aborted motion only--and let Iruka grab him.

"Brat, you're gonna get yourself killed, pulling stunts like that," he grumbled.

Iruka just laughed, carefree and delighted. Hayate shook his head and smiled.

* * *

The storm had left snow heavy and thick in crevices, blown tall up against trees and walls and rocks. But the branches were swept bare, crackled over with ice. A thin layer of ice was also across the snow, and snapped and popped ominously underfoot. The three Genin and their teacher were scooting across slick branches, though, a sort of reckless half-play that had them all scrambling and yelping. Even Genma whooped with laughter as he slid the length of one branch, cloak flaring wildly behind him, and rebounded off into the crisp cold air.

Hayate pushed off from a low crouch and landed up on the next branch, all in a crouch like a treefrog. Chakra anchored him to the ice, but when he flickered it as if he were water-walking, he slid along the slope as though on ice-skates, boots and gloves safe from the cold while enveloped in chakra. He pushed off, between one heartbeat and the next, and skidded down another limb, rebounding off to hit a trunk and push higher, regaining the altitude he'd lost. It was wicked fun, all split-second reflexes and danger just a slide away. It was also a brilliant way of keeping warm in the bitter cold as they traveled.

Itachi passed him in a blinding rush, cloak snapping furiously. He landed in the same froglike crouch, right on the branch Hayate was aiming for. Hayate only felt a moment's anxiety, because they were all going so fast. But Itachi pushed off in plenty of time to let Hayate land. Hayate himself did a very quick rebound, because he knew Iruka was right behind him. Genma was taking the most daring leaps, on thinner branches that swayed and crackled dangerously underfoot.

It was all rush and excitement, made all the more breath-taking because Hayate knew if he stopped concentrating for even a second he would fall and probably get seriously hurt. They were a long way up, and the branches were so slippery. Every balancing moment was a challenge and uncertain and Hayate shouted with delight and alarm as his feet slipped then caught.

The cold air bit sharp and hard at faces exposed and whipped through layers of warm clothes. The exercise was more than enough to keep them from the chill. They were on their very last leg of the journey, and Konoha itself was in sight again. They were all restless and frisky and wild and it hurt to breathe the cold air but Hayate didn't care. After almost two weeks of Home Patrol, home itself was right there and he was ready to be home and warm instead of perpetually chilly.

Iruka was warm, but just not warm enough.

With one last wild whoop, Genma rebounded off a trunk and skidded to a halt on the iced-over road below. Itachi dropped to follow, and Hayate dove down as well, taking the descent a bit too fast, but he couldn't help it. He skidded along the ice, and Genma whipped out an arm to catch him. Iruka slid by with a shout of laughter, barely keeping his balance.

Genma laughed, bright-eyed and warm, and patted Hayate atop the head. "_Izuko_, brats," he panted, and turned up the road at a rather sedate walk, straightening cloak and clothes as he went.

Itachi passed Hayate, with a bright-eyed glance up that told him Itachi was grinning his very widest behind his scarf. Hayate smiled back and tugged his own scarf higher over the bridge of his nose. Walking on the ice wasn't difficult, now, because chakra stuck them nice and firm. Hayate managed a trot to catch up, even though he was starting to cough. He didn't quite have enough breath to cough, with, though, so it was all ragged half-coughs.

Genma and Itachi and Iruka all stopped to wait for him. Hayate caught up. Then he leaned over, braced his hands on his knees, and got the fit over with. The cold air burned in his mouth and seared through his lungs. The fit made him shake all over, curling down tighter and closer as it got stronger, as he got more breath. He had a bad moment where he felt very dizzy, and wondered fleetingly if he was going to pass out....but no, the wracking coughs were tapering off. He straightened up slowly, breathing in careful measured breaths.

"_Daijoubu_?" Genma rumbled.

"_H-hai_," Hayate answered, voice a rasping whisper. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I'm fine."

Genma nodded. His honey-amber eyes crinkled at the corners, and Hayate knew there was a smile beneath the folds of his teacher's cloak. Genma led off again, and the three Genin fell into step. According to length of stride and leg, Hayate was more in front. Iruka was close by, all skittery hop-jump steps and restless energy. Itachi trailed slightly, sedately, tiny and shivery under his cloak. Up the icey road they all went, to Konoha's grand gates. At the guard-shack, where Genma had to give out numbers and names to confirm their team as returned, a surprise was waiting for them.

First out of the warm guard-shack was a tall man, wearing a heavy winter coat and a bizarrely bright knitted hat. His face bore a warping scar across the left side, a distinctive marker, and Hayate recognized him as Raidou, Genma's friend.

"_Oi_, Raidou, what're you doin' here?" Genma declared, trotting forward, with notes of surprise and warmth in his voice.

Raidou held out a thermos, a smile warming his face. "I was working the missions desk when I heard your team was coming back today. Thought I'd wander by here when I got off and see if I could catch you. I brought a few allies, too."

Genma took the thermos, looking bewildered. "Allies...?" And Genma burst out laughing, for following Raidou out of the shack was a familiar figure.

"Hachiko_-basan_!" Hayate exclaimed, sudden delight blooming in his chest. But behind Hachiko was someone else....

"_Okaa-san_!" Itachi squeaked, but that wasn't all.

Two smaller figures tumbled free and rushed Itachi with cries of: "_ 'Nii-san_!" and "Itachi-_nii_!" Startled by the fact that there were two, Hayate stepped out of the way and watched Itachi nearly get himself tackled flat. There was a lot of staggering and yelping, but Itachi managed to stay on his feet.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Get off!" Itachi squalled, pushing at the pair. Hayate realized that the smaller one was indeed Sasuke, but while the other also had bright blue eyes, the hair beneath the woolen cap was a shocking straw-blonde, not coal-black like both Sasuke and Itachi's...and Itachi's mother's hair, beneath her neatly tucked shawl.

"Itachi, is that any way to greet them?" Itachi's mother scolded, coming forward.

"Can't hug 'em when they're being leeches!" Itachi replied, as he suceeded in prising the pair off. He knelt down and vanished again between the two of them.

"No-body's here for me."

Hayate turned and blinked at Iruka. Iruka smiled, but there was melancholy in his eyes.

A pang struck Hayate. Iruka was almost right. Raidou was obviously here for Genma, laughing and teasing the young man. Itachi's mother and Sasuke and the mysterious blonde child were clustered around Itachi. Hachiko was waiting, quiet and patient..... She smiled, and Hayate turned back to Iruka with a frown, determined to make that sadness in his best friend's eyes go away.

"Don't be stupid," Hayate told him, almost roughly. "Hachiko_-basan's_ here for you, too!" He grabbed Iruka's wrist and pulled, until Iruka followed him up to where Hachiko was waiting, wrapped tightly in her faded blue shawl. She smiled, leaned down, and drew them both into a warm hug.

"Wecome home, dears," she murmured, and Hayate hugged her tightly.

"I'm back," he answered, and felt he couldn't be happier.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay! I hope you read the warning at the top! Because it's true. This chapter marks a massive divergence from the original Naruto canon. Up until this point, I might have managed to squeeze everything back into canon and make it fit. From here on out, that will no longer be possible.

Sorry for the "filler" chapter here. But it revealed some random info and set the stage for more plot!

Next chapter: Back to D-ranks...but even these aren't without peril! Falling! Wounds! Genma spazzing out!

SIX REVIEWS! A warming and wonderful thanks to the faithful: **Ally Plz**, **InARealPickle**, **eggomilburnigan**, **WhyMustIWrite**, **Ryo Yuriko**, and **Lydia**!

**Gomen** Sorry, shortened from **gomen nasai**

**Domo** A slangy way of saying "thanks," shortened from **domo arigatou**

**Tonfa** A weapon, kinda like a club, but not really. A longish stick with a handle, used in some martial arts, and considered a traditional _ninja_ weapon. Still curious? Wikipedia it!

**Chigau** You're wrong, that's wrong, used as a polite way to say "no"

**Ii desu** That's good

**Daijoubu** Allright, can be used as a question (as Genma does here) or an aswer

**Hai** Yes

**-jisan** Uncle

**-basan** Aunt

**Okaasan** Mother, the formal way of saying it

**'Nii-san** The informal way of saying "older brother," properly **onii-san**, but can be used almost like a honorific, thus **Itachi-nii** is like saying "big brother Itachi"


	29. Ch 28: Snowfall

**A/N:** The writing continues! Plot is building! And...my sister has convinced me to help her with this project....a comic.

Doujinshi for Naruto, with thirty-something Team 7 going back in time to possess their twelve-year-old-selves and change history. Yeah, it's been done before...but probably not the way we're gonna do it. Because Team 7 is coming from the actual Naruto canon.....and into a Team 13 universe! So yeah. I drew two pages of it today, for the prologue. Tentatively titled "Temporal Stasis."

I do not own the Naruto characters!

**And it's AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Snowfall**

* * *

_January 10_

"Holy flying tree fungus, brat," Genma declared, setting his hands on his hips.

Itachi agreed. "Ashes, Iruka."

Hayate just sighed. When Itachi turned around, he saw Hayate had put his head down on Iruka's shoulder. Iruka looked mildly sheepish, and reached up to pat Hayate on the head. Itachi shook his head, and turned back to examine Iruka's little ramshackle house. Part of the roof had fallen in not two days ago, and Iruka's kitchen had a layer of snow and debris all in it. One of Iruka's neighbors had not been so lucky--the entire roof was fallen in. Or maybe the house was abandoned; Itachi honestly couldn't tell. He was surprised at the little dead-end alley, smelling so strongly of river and fish, cluttered with debris and trash, the little "road" unpaved and full of iced-over dips that would be mud-holes...once it got warm again.

Itachi shivered, and glanced uneasily over his shoulder. He was certain they were being watched...and mostly by unfriendly eyes. "Do you really live here?" he asked again.

"Yeah." Iruka shrugged. "Well, um, I've been staying with Hayate since the roof fell in."

"I should hope so," Genma muttered. "Well, brats," he went on, in a louder tone. "Our job is to clear out as much snow as we can before the real crew gets here."

"So why're we doing D-ranks now?" Iruka demanded.

"I figured you'd want to work on your own house," answered Genma.

Itachi sniggered quietly when Iruka had no reply to that. When Hayate gave him a mournful look, he stopped. A look like that, he had learned, was as good as a spoken reprimand from Genma. It wasn't harsh, just a little warning that said Hayate thought he was almost out-of-bounds. Hayate could be oddly protective around Iruka. Like how Sasuke wouldn't stand any slight against Itachi. It was kinda funny.

"Where are we putting the snow?" Hayate asked.

"Anywhere off the roof," was Genma's prompt reply.

"Well, we could push it against the walls on the outside," Iruka suggested. "Or into the river!"

"No, we are not getting near the river! I heard down at the missions desk that Aoba's team was in for hypothermia, because they fell in the river." Genma scowled. "We are not repeating that mistake."

"Aaaw, but we can all water-walk," Iruka grumbled. "Allright, no river."

"That's right. Now let's get working, brats."

At least Genma worked right with them. If he hadn't, they all three might have pelted him with snow balls. But he worked with them. They had shovels and buckets, and Iruka produced a particularly bedraggled broom to help sweep snow out into the yard. It was cold, but as usual, the work warmed them up. Iruka shed his hat and scarf before anyone else, but he was making twice as much work for himself by periodically goofing off. He would throw loose handfuls of snow at Hayate, and rarely at Itachi. Itachi had already threatened to bean him over the head with his shovel.

Iruka's kitchen was quite small. Itachi amended the thought--the entire house was pretty small. And...kind of dirty, though that could have been because the roof had fallen in. Itachi saw a lot of the snow and dirt. They worked first in the kitchen, then moved up onto the roof. It was slippery work, because the roof was at a dangerous slope, with ice and snow crusted over the slick clay tiles. Genma stayed below, in the kitchen, wielding the broom with surprising dexterity. He had decided it was safer to let the lighter Genin brave the roof first, lest further collapse occur. Itachi and Hayate set to work obediently. Iruka scooted up and down, all over the roof, measuring the snow depth with his shovel.

"Really deep over here!" he announced, at the far end of the roof, opposite the damaged section. "I'm gonna shovel some of this off first!"

"Want help?" Hayate called, and coughed.

"Nah!" Iruka waved his shovel at them, then set to work.

Itachi considered the wisdom of this. Obviously, it would help prevent another collapse. However, it was not their assigned job. He debated the pros and cons as he shoveled, working down near the edge at first. Hayate worked with him, an easy silent presence. Down in the kitchen, Genma started whistling a cheery little tune. Itachi's shovel grated against the roof tiles, jarring snow and chunks of ice loose. Hayate paused in his work to cough, breath smoking like a dragon's in the cold winter air. Over where he was working, Iruka picked up Genma's tune, whistling loud and bright and just a note off-key. Itachi cringed.

Hayate shuddered, and leaned down. He scraped up a snowball with gloved fingers, balancing his shovel handle against his hip, and lobbed the icy missile at Iruka. "Iruka! _Dame yo_!"

Iruka broke off whistling with a squawk as he dodged. "_Oi_! _Nan de yo_!"

"You're off-key!" Itachi called, sparing Hayate the effort of hollering again. Hayate gave him a surprised but very pleased look. Itachi quirked a little smile at him, feeling vaguely conspirator-like. Hayate smiled back, and it was that funny little crooked smile he usually reserved for Iruka. It was such an odd smile, because Hayate was all straight and polite, but that smile was crooked and warm and he had a dimple in his right cheek, like Sasuke. Itachi couldn't help it; he laughed, surprised and oddly gratified that Hayate would smile that strange little smile at him.

Itachi, however, did not really ever laugh--he cackled, like a young child, raising one gloved hand to hide his smile. Hayate blinked, then smiled again, brighter and completely delighted. Down below, Genma stopped whistling. Iruka looked up with an utterly bewildered expression. A little embarrassed, but still tickled, Itachi cackled again. The look on Iruka's face was pretty funny.

"You brats okay up there?" Genma called.

Hayate leaned over the hole and nodded. "We're fine," he rasped out.

"Allright..." Genma sounded uncertain, but he left it. "You brats still working? Don't start slacking on me."

"We're not slacking!" Iruka declared, marching over and brandishing his shovel down into the hole. "We're working hard! You better not be slacking on us!"

In response, a snowball arced up out of the kitchen and nailed Iruka right in the face, despite his attempt to dodge.

Hayate's ragged laugh was just a note lower than Itachi's childish cackle. From below came Genma's low satisfied chuckles. Iruka wiped the snow off his face and favored them all with a scowl. Then he shook his head and just laughed, shrugging.

"Nice shot, Genma_-sensei_!" he called down.

"Of course. Now start using that shovel!" was the disembodied answer,

"_Hai, hai_." Iruka laughed again, and marched over to Itachi and Hayate. "You heard him, let's go!" he cheered.

Hayate shook his head and chuckled.

Itachi grinned up at them both, but dropped his grin when Iruka reached over and mussed his hair. "Hey!" he protested, annoyed. How dare Iruka just do that, like he had any right.... Itachi slid his feet into a stance and threw a punch at the older boy, fully intending to hit him in the ribs.

Iruka yipped and skipped back a step, scuffing and sliding on the ice and snow. Itachi ducked his flailing arm, and had a brief moment where he thought his _chakra _wouldn't hold--but no, he stayed firmly fastened and upright, even if his shovel skidded away down the roof and off into the yard. Iruka's shovel followed it. Iruka made a grab after the tool and missed. Itachi, closer to the shovel and edge, made a quick little lunge after it. One less item to fetch again.

Only his foot hit a patch of ice, and went out from under him.

Terror thrilled through him as he went down, scrabbling at the icy roof. Panic snapped _chakra _through his body, flung the Sharingan straight to activation. Iruka hollered and lunged, but missed. Itachi hit the edge of the roof and went over, catching one last Sharingan-shaded glimpse of Iruka's wide eyes before he went into a freefall. Itachi twisted desperately, trying to right himself, knowing how far he was falling and how fast and how badly he needed to make a right landing...!

He didn't. He landed on his side in the snow. He smacked into the ground hard enough to knock the breath out of him. For a moment he couldn't think or breathe, like the world was frozen. Then he managed a tiny gasp, and it hurt, and he struggled to get up so he could breathe. His chest hurt and his head hurt and he just ached all over, and he was wet from the snow and he couldn't breathe for coughing. _"If this is what Hayate feels like..." _trailed briefly through his mind. Large warm hands closed on him and Itachi managed to glance up. Shaded in real-sight and Sharingan-_chakra_-lines, Genma was leaning over him, face calm but eyes worried.

"Got the breath knocked out of you, huh? If that's all you'll be a darn lucky son of a biscuit. Just breathe, allright? Don't move just yet." Genma's voice was low and soothing, utterly unperturbed. His hands were moving gently, all over him and Itachi coughed a few more times. His head hurt awfully and so did his left arm, but most of the all-over ache was going away.

"Can you get your Sharingan off?" Genma asked, as his hands ran lightly over Itachi's head. Itachi shut his eyes and tried, but he was still too jittery and shaky. He blinked up at Genma, who nodded and flared his _chakra_, a little spike and touch of his fingertips over Itachi's temples, right above his ears. With a wrenching twist of vision, the _chakra_-lines faded away. Itachi's head responded with a throb of pain again, but that was okay. Genma's hands kept going, lightly feeling over his neck, down his shoulders, across his arms.

Genma's fingers probed over his right elbow and that HURT. Itachi yelped and snatched away and almost went over into the snow. Genma caught him, and now he did look worried. Itachi didn't care, trying to breathe and not cry because it hurt it hurt it hurt and tears rolled hot down his cheeks and he couldn't see Genma's expression anymore.

"Is he okay?" Iruka, loud and upset. Hayate murmured something and Genma twisted to look up at them.

"I swear, if it was your fault..." he began.

"I-i-it's n-no-not," Itachi stammered, and cradled his left arm close. It was awful, sharp spiking pain all up and down his arm, from fingers to shoulder. His breath caught and he tried hard, so hard not to sob because he wasn't going to cry. He wasn't a baby or anything...! But it hurt more than anything else he'd ever felt before, snarling all up and down his arm and banging in time to the shudders that had started shaking him.

"Okay, okay," Genma soothed. "It's just your arm, right?" Itachi nodded, shakily. "Okay, then, hold very still and I'll pick you up and we'll go to the hospital."

"N-no!" Itachi managed, but his arm throbbed and he just couldn't keep the reflexive sob quiet. "D-don't touch m-m-me-e!" Because even Genma's hand on his right shoulder felt like it should hurt, all aching and up and down and he sobbed again. He wanted it to stop hurting. He wanted to not cry, not in front of his team-mates. And he wanted his mother, very much, because she wouldn't mind if he cried.

"Genma_-sensei_, can't you heal him? You know medical _jutsu_, you said so!" Iruka again, and he sounded closer. Itachi looked up to see Iruka kneeling closer, and flinched away, so he wouldn't touch his arm.

Genma said something quite vulgar. "No. I can't. I'm not a medic anymore," he snapped, calm breaking into irritation.

Iruka's hands were folding through signs, and Itachi let out a tiny cry of alarm when Iruka reached out and grabbed him by the upper-arm, because that was going to...to... Hey. It didn't hurt. In fact, it was all fading away into a low ache, still there, but not so bad. Itachi sniffed, shivered, and blinked up at Iruka.

"That'll hold for...oh, about ten minutes," Iruka declared, but he was frowning. "Can you stand?"

"If he can't, I'll carry him." Genma's hands were gentle as he helped Itachi to his feet. Itachi kept his left arm cradled lose, afraid to let it go in case it started hurting again. He was still shaking, and felt kind of cold all over, but not snow-cold. He sniffed, and hiccupped. His nose was running, and he wanted to wipe his face off. Genma reached up and swiped his thumb over first one, then the other cheek, wiping off Itachi's tears. "C'mon, brat, let's see you walk," Genma ordered, a little gruffly, but not unkindly.

Itachi nodded, swallowed, and made a few unsteady steps across the snow. He felt shivery and sickish and miserable, but he could walk. He walked very softly, though, because if shivering and hiccupping made that low ache throb a little harder, he didn't want to find out what a hard step would do.

Hayate trotted out of Iruka's house, bearing the discarded hats and scarves. "Iruka, lock the door, and we can go," he said, softly, sounding a little breathless. He hopped down the steps and jogged up to Genma, big umber eyes wide and worried as he gazed at Itachi.

"We'll head out, and Iruka can catch up," Genma said, taking Itachi's hat from Hayate's armful. He reached down and set Itachi's hat on his head. "Let's go."

"I'm good!" Iruka flung himself off the porch and nearly barreled into Hayate.

Hayate yelped and spooked to the side, avoiding collusion.

Itachi hiccupped, and whimpered a little. He wanted to go home.

* * *

Home they did not go. Genma herded them all into Konoha's General Hospital, but not through the "emergency" entrance. When Iruka complained, he promptly informed him that Itachi was not in danger of eminent death, therefore it was not an emergency. Itachi felt a little differently, but he said nothing. Whatever Iruka had done was still working, but there was still a low uncomfortable ache in his arm. He didn't dare stop supporting it, and felt awkward and helpless and miserable, with a bad case of the hiccups. His nose kept trying to run, too.

Genma fetched papers and a clipboard and started jotting down names, numbers, and other assorted information. Itachi sat in one on the slick chairs and sniffled. Iruka flopped into the one beside Itachi, sandwiching him between Iruka and Genma. Itachi winced a little, but he didn't really feel like moving. Even when Iruka snagged Hayate and pulled him down to squash into the same chair.

The waiting room was lined with the slick plastic chairs, tiled, and mostly decorated with odd stains on the walls, between unamusing portraits and a chart for emergency first aid. There were quite a few people already there, ranging from _ninja _to civilian: even without his Sharingan, Itachi could tell the difference in _chakra_. One of the _ninja _was holding pressure on a bloodied wad of gauze, held against his forearm. His partner looked anxious and was hovering. One of the civilians--an older lady, white-haired and with a finely-carved cane--waved at Hayate and called a gentle greeting. Hayate answered her, voice soft and raspy.

There was a commotion at the sign-in desk, and Itachi thought he knew that voice.... It sounded a little bit like his father's. He sniffed, wishing his could wipe his nose, and tried to sit a little straighter, to see over to the desk, across the crowded room.

* * *

**A/N:**Well! Itachi laughed! ...briefly. Our next chapter will pick up immediately after this, and things happen! Genma gets worried! Itachi gets patched up! And....dinner with the Uchiha?

SEVEN REVIEWS! Wow! Amazing! A fantastic and sincere thanks to: **Ally Plz**, **Rebelgirl666**, **Lydia**, **InARealPickle**, **Tilders**, **WhyMustIWrite**, and **Ryo Yuriko**!

Also, a very special and grand thanks to **Cha Cha1**, who has taken on the onerous task of going back through "Dance With Me" and marking out my errors! She gets cookies and kudos for being so kind!

I'm surprised by the enthusiastic response to Naruto's mini-appearance! I guess he's more popular than I thought. Sadly, we won't see much of him...but next chapter, we'll learn more about him, and why he was there to meet Itachi. Also! We'll get to hear exactly what happened to Naoya and what Genma was up to while we were cleaning up at the bridge, way back in chapter twenty-three (Beeswax).

I have been writing "Team 13" in a single collective document, as I go. But then it started getting slow when I tried to open it or save it. The original file is 376KB in size and has twenty-seven chapters, from three to four pages each in length, plus the very short prologue, for a grand total of 77 pages. "Team 13" (which is the working title, and what I say to my sister to let her know what we're plotting) is now in two documents and still growing in size and length!

To continue your numerical data update, "Dance with Me" in in **2** C2s, has **13** favorites, and **27** alerts! And **almost half** the people who have this story on alert have reviewed at _least_ once! Yay! However, only **3** people who have this story in their favorites have reviewed at _least_ once. And these people also have it on alert, as well. (...and my story stats say I have international readers. Whut? People outside the US read the junk I write in my spare time? I think it lies to me. And Ch. 27 "Home Again Home Again" can't have got 36 hits. No way. It lies.)

**Dame yo** That's no good! or Stop that!

**Nan de yo** What?!


	30. Ch 29: Matters of Manners

**A/N:** Yay! Plot is moving on! There is writing being done! I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving break. I shall write like mad. And my strawberry plant, which is blooming out the top and had ripening strawberries, now has a pair of walking-stick bugs living in it. I don't think I'll evict them, because they aren't eating my strawberries.

I do not own any of the Nauto characters!

**It's starting to get very AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Matters of Manners**

* * *

_January 10_

Genma gave Itachi a cautious look and shuddered a little when the kid sniffed. _"Ugh. Snot."_ Genma and mucus had a long-standing hatred for one-another. Blood, guts, brains, bones, all these Genma could handle. Snot? Leave him out of it! And far, far away, too. But at least Itachi wasn't crying anymore. Genma hadn't felt so wretched in years, watching the tiny eight-year-old sob in pain, and himself unable to cast even the smallest healing _jutsu_ to block the pain. Fortunately, Iruka had been able to save his team-mate some agony and trauma.

But he was going to have to talk to Iruka....because medical _jutsu_ could be taxing and dangerous to a still-developing _chakra_-system. Genma had learned that the hard way.

Genma was just finishing up the entry paperwork when Itachi shifted in his seat, peering towards the front desk with a tear-stained face. Genma winced as Itachi sniffed loudly, looking to see what had caught the boy's attention...

...and promptly froze in his seat like a stunned rabbit when Uchiha Fugaku turned on a heel and surveyed the room. With a nod and a word to his subordinate, Fugaku navigated the crowded waiting room and strode up to the little Genin cell. He eyed Itachi, then Genma, and scowled very forebodingly at Iruka. Then he crouched down in front of Itachi.

"Well," he said, gruffly, but still gently, "what did you do?"

Itachi sniffed again. "F-fell," he stammered, and hiccupped.

Fugaku dug in a pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, looking up at Genma. "What happened, Shiranui-_san_? And blow." This last was directed to Itachi, as Fugaku held his handkerchief to the boy's face. Obediently, Itachi blew his nose, noisily. Genma cringed at the sound.

"Ah, he fell off the roof," he managed. "We were on a mission, and clearing up a collapsed roof...I was inside, so I missed it..."

"I suppose that one had something to do with it," Fugaku's tone dropped, hovering just above a growl. He jerked his head in Iruka's direction....Iruka, who was looking guilty and trying to hide behind Hayate, as little as there was of the other boy.

"N-no," Itachi blurted, startling both adults. "H-he didn't do an-nything. I s-slipped. He tried-d to catch m-me." He got through all this despite his hiccups and hoarse voice, then sniffed again. Fugaku reproduced the handkerchief and ordered a second nose-blowing.

"I see. Well. I can't stay, I've got to report back to the station. We had to drop off a perp here. I love it when they're off their meds, that means they're not my problem." Fugaku chuckled wryly. "I can leave Kaika here to escort you home, though."

Itachi shook his head, just a little. "S'ok-kay. Genma-_sen-sensei _can d-do it."

"You sure?" Genma interjected, surprised. Itachi glanced at him, ash-grey eyes a little reddened from his earlier tears, but perfectly trusting. A little tendril of warmth uncurled in Genma's chest, mingled with a little spark of fright. He didn't deserve that look. But for Itachi--quiet, aloof Itachi--to give him such a look....

"Allright. I'll call your mother and let her know," Fugaku said, which startled Genma even more.

Itachi nodded, and hiccupped. Fugaku stood, and almost absently patted Itachi on the head before he nodded to Genma. He turned and walked off. Genma shook his head and wondered if pinching himself would make it feel any more real. He glanced over at his Genin, waiting quietly, and decided that it would not. He stood with his finished paperwork and made his way up to the front desk to turn it in. The nurse smiled quite brightly at him--she was very good-looking, too. Genma smiled back, watched her blush, and grinned even wider when she told him to bring his team on back to the rooms. At last.

* * *

As it turned out, Itachi's arm was not broken. He had cracked the head of his radius, however, up near his elbow. The doctor had expressed concern over how close the crack was to the growth plate in the bone, and had explained that because of this and how young Itachi was, they would not heal the break with _chakra_. Such gross interference with the body's natural healing process might warp Itachi's growth. Itachi was given a sling, instructions to wear it and come back in a week--or see his personal doctor--and a prescription for pain meds. Because Itachi was an Uchiha, and thus they knew roughly where he lived, the hospital called in the prescription to a drugstore along the way. Genma swore up and down he would not forget to retrieve the medication, signed a few more papers, and they were free to go at last.

Outside the hospital, Genma paused and looked down at his brats. He realized, abruptly, that he didn't have to look quite so far down to Iruka anymore. The brat was growing. Genma wasn't sure if he liked that development or not. Growing meant changes in reach and reaction time--dangerous in an inexperienced fighter.

"I guess you two can go. I'll walk Itachi home and get his drugs. We won't be meeting for a few days, though....probably next week is when we'll meet up next. I'll have to see." Genma was fairly sure a light injury like this one would not ban them from taking missions altogether, just knock them down to a lighter sort of duty. Like paperwork.

Hayate and Iruka exchanged glances. "We'll walk with Itachi too!" Iruka declared. "Because we're a team!"

"_Baka_," Itachi said....but he didn't say no.

Genma smiled a little. Bonds between team members were often both beneficial and dangerous....but at the Genin level, very encouraged. He was proud of the loyalty and co-operation his brats had developed. He nodded. "Allright. We'll all go. _Izuko_."

Konoha's General Hospital was very centrally located. The Uchiha district was in the eastern quarter of the village, near the edge. They had a ways to walk, but it wasn't bitterly cold today. The weather had been warmer this last week, which probably meant there were more storms to come. It was still January, and the worst of winter weather was still ahead. Genma shook his head and pulled his scarf closer around his neck. The streets were scraped clean, snow dirtied and packed up against buildings and ground between the cobblestones. Not many people were out in the cold, only those that had necessary errands to run. During the winter Konoha was a very sleepy sort of village, as people tried to stay warm.

The pharmacy was expecting them. The lady behind the counter knew Genma quite well, and they chatted for a bit as she measured out the correct pills, bottled them, and handed them over, with a brief lecture on taking them. Upon hearing that Genma himself would not be responsible for the medication and the kid, she took the time to write out further instructions than were on the label, poked them into the bag, and handed it all over.

The Uchiha district was even quieter than the main parts of Konoha, as it was mostly residences. Genma wasn't familiar with the layout of the place. He'd been in here only once, for a funeral, and he had been heavily medicated at the time. Itachi noticed his teacher's hesitation, and set off in the lead, walking down the silent streets with a steady stride. Genma and Iruka and Hayate followed, Genma just half-a-step behind his tiny student. Itachi led them past the smaller houses and buildings, and deeper into the district. The houses grew larger and more grand as they went on, walls enclosing gardens and houses. The snow-dusted streets all looked very alike, uniform and proper.

Itachi stopped at last at a decidedly large compound, and opened the gate with hardly a pause. He did hesitate on the doorstep, glancing back at his team. "Come in, and welcome," he said, the formal phrases dropping easily from his lips. He offered a slight bow.

Genma recalled that for all his authority, Itachi was technically above him in the social classes. It took him a moment to dredge up the correctly-polite response. Genma had done most of his growing up on battlefields and back alleys. Manners and formality were something he'd learned later in life, and did not come naturally to him.

Before Genma could respond, Hayate spoke up. "Please pardon our intrusion," he said, as formally as Itachi had, and offered a short bow, deeper than Itachi's had been. He elbowed Iruka in the ribs, prompting the taller boy to imitate him. Genma raised an eyebrow. He knew Hayate was always polite in speech and manner, but it hadn't occurred to him the boy had an upbringing equal with Itachi's.

Rituals completed, the four entered the gates. Itachi led them across the cobbled walkway and up to the house. It was a traditional structure, and quite large. Genma was impressed. The entryway had several pairs of sandals waiting by the steps. Itachi sat down and wrestled awkwardly with his boots, having only one hand. Genma tucked the paper bag of drugs under an arm and knelt down to help him. Itachi gave him an unreadable ash-grey stare, but let him. As soon as his boots were off, Itachi stepped up on the _tatami_.

"_Tadaima_!" he called, loudly.

_"Okeri nasai_!" answered a woman's voice from within the house, likely his mother.

A sudden rapid patter of feet sounded, and a dark-haired child appeared around a corner at a breakneck pace--Sasuke, Itachi's little brother. "_ 'Nii-san_! You're home you're home you--"

"_Dame yo_!" Itachi yelped, snapping out his free hand, sounding panicked.

Sasuke skidded to a halt, nearly tumbling himself over, blue eyes wide and alarmed.

"I'm hurt. Don't touch my arm," Itachi ordered, almost harshly. "Okay?"

Sasuke nodded, blue eyes growing even wider, if that was possible. Genma hadn't thought so, but apparently he was wrong. "Hurt bad?" he asked, tremulously, all his attention fixed on his older brother.

Itachi seemed to notice the sympathetic tears gathering in the toddler's eyes. "No, not really. Just don't bump it. Or I'll thump you." He scowled, and lowered his forbidding hand. Oddly enough, the threat made Sasuke grin. He pattered up to Itachi and gingerly delivered a hug, giving a very wide berth to the injured arm. Itachi sighed and patted Sasuke on the head, in a manner almost resigned.

"We gots to go tell _'Kaa-san_ you're hurt!" Sasuke declared, pulling back.

Genma wondered if Fugaku had kept his promise to call his wife, as he pulled the sack out from under his arm. Only then did Sasuke seem to see the three still standing in the entryway, and he grinned brightly. "Oh! _'Nii-san_'s team! You brought him home!" he chirped, charmingly. " 'Ruka-_san_!"

"Hey, Sasuke-_chan_!" Iruka waggled his fingers at the child and grinned. Sasuke giggled, the high bright laughter very similar to his brother's.

"Ah, so here you are." Itachi's mother came around the corner, wiping her hands on her apron. "Shiranui_-san_, thank you for bringing Itachi home. Fugaku said he was on duty, and appreciates you taking care of his son. How bad is it?"

Genma fumbled after her name. Ah, Mikoto, that was it. He recalled it from having met her back in December, before the New Year had passed. "It's my responsibility as his Jounin-_sensei_, Mikoto_-san_. He's not hurt bad. He just cracked a bone in his arm. They want him back in a week to check up on it. And here, we picked up his medication on the way over." He offered her the bag.

"_Arigatou gozaimasu_," she said, and bowed before taking the bag. "Please, come in and be welcome. Supper is almost ready. Why don't you eat with us?"

"Oh, no'm, we're okay," Genma answered, hastily, a bit alarmed. It was supper-time, his empty stomach told him as it gnawed on his liver, but eating with the Uchiha? He was outclassed and knew it, uncomfortable with the fact. "We don't want to be a bother...."

"It's no bother. Please, I insist. It's the least I can do to thank you." Mikoto bowed again.

Genma hesitated. He didn't want to be rude and refuse again, but he also didn't want to impose. At his side, Hayate touched his sleeve. He glanced down at him, and Hayate give a little minute nod of yes. Genma almost laughed. The idea of Hayate giving his much older and more experienced teacher a guiding hand in manners was decidedly amusing, especially as it wasn't quite needed. Genma smiled and held in a sigh. Might as well.

"We're very honored. Thank you very much," he told Mikoto, and bowed.

The sparkle in her eye as she answered him made him think she had very correctly interpreted the miniature drama between teacher and student. She, it seemed, was not so rigid or imposing as her husband, and Genma began to relax. Perhaps dinner wouldn't be so stiff as he had feared. And after entering the house, he decided that not only whatever Mikoto was cooking smelled divine, Iruka and Sasuke would keep the meal from being too formal. Iruka was delighted with the toddler, who seemed just as tickled to be paid such lavish attention. They dragged poor mournful Hayate into a quick rough-and-tumble game, as Mikoto and Itachi began setting out the table. Genma felt decidedly useless, but perched himself in a corner and kept an eye on the playing kids.

The food was indeed fantastic, and Mikoto a pleasant hostess. But hardly had the meal begun when there came the tromp of boots in the entryway. Fugaku was home. Iruka's bright chatter cut off abruptly, as Sasuke tore himself free from the table and ran to greet his father. Genma himself slid a little lower where he sat. Hayate looked between him and Iruka with quiet concern. Mikoto rose to go greet her husband as well, excusing herself from her guests.

"He won't bite your heads off," Itachi said, into the falling silence. His droll tone was startling. He was still eating, calmly. "And he likes you more than he lets on, Iruka. He just growls a lot."

"Really? Like Hiko-_sensei_?" Iruka responded.

Mouth full, Itachi merely nodded.

The rest of the family came back, and the meal resumed, with a bit more caution than before. Fugaku gave the guests an almost cursory amount of attention, with a slight scowl for Iruka. Iruka beamed and waggled his fingers. Sasuke, sitting by Iruka, started chattering again, and Iruka soon forgot his wariness and eagerly responded to the small child. Hayate sat serenely on Iruka's other side, occasionally elbowing his friend to remind him of manners. Genma, buffered from Fugaku's presence by Itachi at his side, managed to get away with being mostly quiet.

As soon as politeness let him--which was not immediately after the meal ended--Genma herded both Hayate and Iruka towards the door. Fugaku came out to see them off, with Sasuke pattering after Iruka with a sort of puppy-eyed adoration. Iruka declared he was going to steal Sasuke away and snatched the child up. Sasuke screamed with laughter, and Iruka charged out the door, trailing laughter. Hayate went after him, half-laughing, half-exasperated. Genma shook his head and sat down to put his boots on. Fugaku came to stand beside him, arms crossed over his chest.

"You know," Fugaku said to Genma, as he was putting his boots on, "we had a very strange thing happen at the station about two months ago. We had a message left at the station by the Nekoken _yakuza_, in the form of a convict who had escaped."

Genma's surprise was only partially feigned. "Oh? The Nekoken, you say?"

"Yes. They have a very distinct signature, as you might know." Fugaku looked grimly unamused. "They also left us a written note. It was mentioned in the note that you might like to know the results. There have been investigations and dismissals across our department. Several of the former policemen will be prosecuted, both on grounds of accepting bribes and as accessories to crime."

"And the note said I might want to know this?" Genma asked.

"By name," Fugaku confirmed, with a raised eyebrow. "I suppose you're going to deny having any connections to the most powerful _yakuza_ in Konoha? I would find it very hard to believe, especially after said _yakuza_ broke up a child prostitution ring on a street where one of your students lives."

Genma chuckled a little, and stood, stamping his feet firmly into his boots. "Let's just say I dropped a word where ears could hear. The riverside district is the home territory to the Nekoken, after all. They would have moved sooner or later."

"Hmph. Well, you're right about that. Organized crime does tend to weed out the individual perpetrators." Fugaku uncrossed his arms. "Though I find very odd that a _ninja_ like yourself would have any ties to the _yakuza_. I am well aware of the friction between the two--I see the results more often than anyone else."

This conversation was not going the way Genma wanted. Too much had been given away already, and he was going to have to work to keep his secrets from Fugaku. He was, he thought with annoyance, going to have to have a little talk with Ranma. That would really make Raidou upset, but that just couldn't be helped. Genma was who he was, and he never cut old ties if he could help it.

"I am a very special _ninja_." Genma winked and grinned. "And now I'm going to save your son from being stolen by my students."

It was an obvious avoidance, but Fugaku merely nodded and let it pass. "Do. I would hate for both my children to suffer at the hands of your team."

Genma winced theatrically. "Ouch! I'm going, I'm going!" But as he went out the door, he smiled. Itachi had been quite right. Fugaku was not as foreboding as he first seemed. Genma wondered if he could make an ally of the man, another helping hand in the ever-shifting playing field that was Konoha's politics. An Uchiha always made a very, very valuable comrade.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, here we go! Mysterious revealations about Genma, oh my! And social awkwardness! I figured out that, according to the social status in out team, Genma is on the lowest rung, followed by Iruka, Hayate, and Itachi up at the top. Yeah, wierd!

Next chapter! More wierdness revealed! Ice! Snow! And Tuesdays for Iruka.

FIVE reviews! A grand thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter: **WhyMustIWrite**, **InARealPickle**, **Ally Plz**, **Sonar**, and **anon.**! (International from where, can I ask? Or is it top secret and you must kill me if you tell me?)

No cookies this time, instead several slices of the cream-cheese pound-cake my mother baked this afternoon to **Cha Cha1**, who is still working away at proofreading for me! Thank you so much! (By the way, the cake tastes heavenly. We taste-tested it.)

As for **Nekoken** and **Ranma**, well, some fans will know where they're from right away. Others will have to wait until the next chapter to find out. But yes, I am shamelessly borrowing them from another manga/anime, and no, I do not own them.

**Baka** Idiot, an insult occasionally used affectionately as well

**Izuko** Let's go, said in the male slangy way, properly **ike masho**

**Tadaima **I'm home!

**Okeri nasai** Welcome home!

**Dame yo** Literally, No good! but can also be used as a mild form of Stop!

**Arigatou gozaimasu** Thank you very much, the ver formal way of saying it

**Yakuza** Not exactly a gang, but more like ring of gangs. Organized crime. Very simplified, here is a head man, several under him, several under them, and street gangs, all working togather and answering to head man. They alternately commit crimes--smuggling, stealing, the like--and protect against crime--usually by extortion and blackmail.

**A note on Itachi's injury: **Cracking a bone still means the bone is fractured, but the fracture is incomplete. Similar to a greennstick fracture, but without the same forces of stress. The radius is the bone on the outside of the arm when the arm is held with the palm up--it is the one under your thumb. The head of the radius is back in the elbow--but is is not the bump you can feel on your elbow, that's part of the humerus. As for the "growth plates" mentioned. the growth plate is kind of a cap of cartilage within the ends of the bones. These cartilage plates make the bone grow longer, until late adolescence (18 for girls, 21 for boys) when they turn into bone. Messing with these growth places, or breaking them, can seriously mess with bone growth. You could end up with one arm too short or unevenly grown.

**A note on the manners and politeness:** The Japansese society is an incredibly complex one when it comes to politness! They have levels of varying politeness in speech and actions. They value propriety and behaving according to status. I have tried to convey that. In this chapter specifically, I tried to get Genma's unease with the formal politeness to come across. His up-bringing did not emphasize manners, and niether did Iruka's. On the other hand, I wanted Itachi and Hayate to come across as stiff but easy, as children taught since they were small.

Being very American, I'm not sure I have pulled it off. The idea of social classes and status factoring into interaction is not one I usually contemplate. Please forgive me for any errors I have made, and please never take my word as final! Feel free to correct me on any errors you find.


	31. Ch 30: Uncertain Ground

**A/N: **Another chapter! Thanksgiving break is here, and I am writing like mad already! Whoo!

I do not own of of the Naruto characters, **nor** do I own any of the Ranma 1/2 characters. I'm just borrowing them!

**It's decidedly ****AU****!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty: Uncertain Ground**

* * *

_January 14_

Ice creaked and whined under his boots. The snow squeaked and crunched delightfully. It was cold, so cold the skin bared between his scarf and hood would have been stinging, if it hadn't been numb already. His breath caught by the scarf had made a little patch of icy cold against his nose and mouth. He didn't care. He scrambled down the bank and stepped gingerly out onto the frozen river. The thin ice creaked alarmingly, but held when he coiled _chakra_ through his feet. He looked up.

"C'mon, Hayate!"

"I think it's thinner over here, Iruka." Hayate looked doubtful, but he came down after Iruka, slowly, gloves clinging to the frozen-crumbly bank.

"It'll hold. We're light. Hey, look, I think I see a real good spot over there!" Iruka moved across the ice and hefted the stick in his gloved hand. It was a discarded branch, and an impromptu staff, ice-breaker, and fishing spear all in one. Hayate had a similarly multi-purpose stick, which he was unthreading from his belt-loop after his descent.

"Think we'll get any this time?" Hayate asked, muffled behind his thick scarf.

"Who knows? The luck of the fishies might be against us! We might have angered Ebisu, god of the fishermen! In which case, the divine are against us, and all our efforts are in vain!" Iruka proclaimed, as he pressed chakra and thrust his stick through the thin ice, chopping a hole. "Alas, Hayate, if the gods are against us, then we can do nothing! Perhaps we are doomed to forever be fishless!"

"Then we should go home and get something warm to drink," was Hayate's quietly practical answer. "And maybe burn a little incense to increase our luck."

Iruka looked up and caught the sparkle of laughter in Hayate's dark eyes, and laughed himself. "After this one, we'll go back to your house, and get warm again."

"Thanks." Hayate peered into the little hole. "I see no fish."

"Seeing doesn't mean they aren't there." Iruka hefted his stick, angled it in his hand, then thrust down into the water, angling under the bank. The stick jerked and thrashed in his hand, and he cheered and flipped it out of the water. A fish flopped out onto the thin ice, flung off the impaling stick. Iruka whooped in delight. It was a good-sized catfish, slick and green and slimey across the ice as it writhed. Hayate yelped, and Iruka saw why. The fish was thrashing too close to the thin ice. Iruka lunged after it and thrust his stick back through it, pinning it down again.

"Ta-dah, fish!" Iruka declared.

Hayate shook his head, hefted his own stick, and performed the same quick thrust Iruka had, down into the hole. His stick also jerked, but he didn't come up with anything. He was not quite as good at stick-fishing as Iruka was. He shrugged a little at Iruka.

"We got one! And we'll string it up and take it home and your aunt can cook it for us!" Iruka nodded. "Come on, if you...." And he trailed off.

They were being watched, intently, and that _chakra_ signature felt familiar. Iruka whipped around and stared across the river, looking for....there! On the opposite bank, two figures down near the water. The one man had bare arms even in this cold, and bright gang tattoos covered his skin. Iruka slid a foot back, bracing on the thin ice and uncertain water, lifting a hand as warning to Hayate. Hayate moved slowly behind him.

But that other one felt so familiar, lanky and with his tangled dirty hair such a mop around his narrow face. He tilted his head, and that single motion thrilled recognition through Iruka. "Is that Genma?" he hissed, startled, knowing it had to be, but why on earth would Genma be in the presence of a gang-member? Iruka knew that _ninja_ and gang members did not get along at all.

"Genma-_sensei_?" Hayate replied, drawing closer to Iruka's back. "That's him."

Identity confirmed, Iruka nodded. He grinned, bright and sharkish, because it was Wednesday and he was reckless, after spending such most of yesterday kneeling at the October Memorial. "_OI,_ GENMA_-SENSEI_!" he bellowed across the cold air, and waved his free arm expansively.

Genma cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted back. "Y'brats get offa that ice this flamin' minnit! Iffen you fall in 'n drown I ain't savin' ya!" Genma's dictation was all slurred and roughened, street-talk and slangy. His clothes were ill-fitting, his hair dirty and tangled, his hands bare and reddened in the cold.

His companion give him a bland look. "Why d'ya care? The brats're brave enough ta stand on the ice."

" 'Cuz they're my brats is why," Genma said, and shouted again. "Get on home!"

"Want us to catch you a fish?" Iruka waved and gestured to the great catch still flopping sluggishly on the ice.

Genma made a dismissive gesture, and turned away. Iruka pulled his scarf down and blew a very loud raspberry at his teacher's back. Hayate made a helpless little noise, like he was holding back either a laugh or a cough. Iruka glanced at him, and saw astonished but genuine laughter in Hayate's dark umber eyes, as the smaller boy put a hand over his scarf. Iruka grinned wild and reckless and pulled his scarf back up, because the air was cold! Hayate laughed, soft and ragged, and barked a short cough. Iruka chuckled and moved to retrieve the catfish.

The ice was quite thin. Iruka felt his amusement fade into concentration as he pulled _chakra _carefully. He did not want a dunking in the river! He knew well the dangers of hypothermia and cold-water-drownings. Though he could swim like a fish, his heavy clothes and the ice nearly outweighed his skills, not to mention the temperature. It was rare the river iced over completely, for it moved swiftly through Konoha, but even now there was only a very narrow gap between the thin sheets of ice blanketing the river. Iruka measured the single step he needed to capture his fish. He actually wasn't sure the ice and water--_chakra_-support notwithstanding--would hold him up.

"Iruka..?" Hayate, soft and questioning, cautious.

"Stay back, I think it'll hold." Iruka frowned, despite his words.

"Here." Iruka glanced back. Hayate, firmly perched on footing less precarious, was offering his stick as a handhold.

Iruka nodded, and gripped the damp stick with his free hand. He felt the grip as the ice formed to his glove. He took a slow breath and edged closer to his fish. The idea of just leaving his catch most certainly did not occur to him. That was his fish, after all. The ice buckled alarmingly under his weight. Just a bit closer.....

Iruka barely had time to shout as the ice gave way with a sudden keening crack. Hayate yelped and snatched back on his stick. Iruka held hard and pressed _chakra_ into his reflexive kick back, away from the treacherous footing. He slammed hard into Hayate, and they both slid a few inches across the ice. The fish and the stick and the ice where Iruka had been standing was gone, in a neat semi-circle, like someone had taken a bite out of it. Iruka found he was shaking with adrenaline, jittery and tingly like he'd been shocked. Up against his back Hayate was panting, one gloved hand clenched hard in Iruka's sleeve.

"My fish!" Iruka declared, as fright bled into dismay. "Aaaw, man, and it was a good one, too!"

Hayate responded with a laugh pitched a few notes too high. "Well, I think I caught a good fish," he joked, raspily.

"Huh? Oh! Me!" Iruka laughed aloud, delighted by the joke. It was a bit feeble, but he had probably just scared a few years off Hayate's life, so it was all good. His heart was still pounding, but he was safe and so was Hayate, and there was nothing to worry about. "You're probably the only person in Konoha who's ever caught a dolphin!" he declared.

"_Yosh_," Hayate replied. "Now can we go home and get warm?"

"Alright, alright." Iruka chuckled, turned around, and hugged Hayate tightly. "Let's go!"

Hayate huffed and coughed, but wound an arm around Iruka to return the hug. Iruka noticed, suddenly, that the top of Hayate's hat was only just level with his jaw. The fluffy pom-pom on the top tickled his nose. _"That's weird. I was sure Hayate was taller than that...."_ he thought. When Hayate pulled back, Iruka hooked a hand in his sleeve and dusted the top of Hayate's hat with his other hand, measuring. He glanced down to make sure the ice they were standing on was level.

"Did you shrink?" he asked.

Hayate gave him a limpid look, clearly a little puzzled. "No. You're growing," he answered, sounding as though it was perfectly obvious.

And perhaps it was to Hayate, always smaller and quieter and quickly observant. Iruka blinked, and laughed. The idea tickled him--that he should really be getting taller, growing up. "Ack, soon I'll be lots taller than you!" he announced. "Then whatever shall I do for a sparring partner?"

"Use Genma-_sensei_. Come on, Iruka, I'm cold! You can talk and walk, let's go already!" Hayate begged, grabbing Iruka's sleeve and pulling.

Laughing, Iruka let Hayate pull him along, up to the bank. They scrambled back up, and started along the icy streets. Iruka walked without fear, traversing the trashy alleys with confidence. They were down near his own house, and he was used to the decay and dilapidation. He knew there were drunks and thieves and homeless here, but they didn't have much to do with him. Even if he was going to be a _ninja_. He was one of their own, making his way in the world. His mother's legacy kept him quite safe--people had liked his mother, hellion that she was, and in her memory they left him alone. Hayate walked close, and in doing so he was just as safe as Iruka, though it was clear he had never belonged to these streets. He stood out just a bit too much: too polite, too neat, too correct. If Iruka was sheltered by the memory of his mother, Hayate was sheltered by Iruka in much the same way.

Out onto the main street they came, and crossing the bridge would put them in the better districts, closer to Hayate's house. Iruka hesitated, though, upon seeing two figures already on the bridge, leaning on the railings. Gangster tattoos on bare arms made him check up....until he recognized Genma again. Then he walked right up to them. Closer, it was easier to see how filthy Genma was; dirt streaked across his face, hair a rats-nest-snarl, clothes patched and ragged, scent of unwashed body and garbage. He gave both Iruka and Hayate a cold look, eyes like sharp shards of amber in the winter air. Iruka was not deterred in the least. It was still Genma, after all. Even if he was standing next to a _yakuza_ member, one short and compactly muscled, with dark hair in a short braid and eyes like obsidian. The guy looked oddly familiar, and Iruka stopped and frowned, before the memory hit.

"Hey, you're the guy _'Kaa-chan_ hit in the head with a sea-bream for trying to steal her cash-box!" Iruka declared, thrusting a gloved hand out to point at the dark-haired man.

Genma looked stunned. The short man burst out laughing, raucous and amused. " 'S right, brat. And you're the Umino hell-brat nobody's supposed ta touch."

Iruka beamed. Hayate shook his head. And Genma barked a sharp, short laugh. "Fire, smoke, an' ashes, brat. Didja mom hit everyone with fish?"

"Only people she didn't like!" Iruka declaimed.

"So you've got these 'uns and a flamin' Uchiha, huh, Skeeter?" the man asked. "Don't envy your lot. "

"Thanks, Ranma," Genma replied, easily, giving the man a cutting look. "We goin' yet? Y'said I could look at th' littles you got, clear up your school of minners."

"_Sou da_," Ranma answered, shifting easily. Iruka tensed at the motion. It was too sleek, the graceful move of a predator. "Let's git, Skeeter. You brats run 'long, now." And he grinned, all wild and dangerous. "I'm only lettin' you go on 'count of Skeeter, here, and the hell-brat's momma. You 'memeber that."

"_Yamero_, Ranma," Genma growled. "_Ikuzo_."

"Right, right. Don't get y'panties in a wad, now." Ranma grinned and dodged easily when Genma made a half-hearted swipe at him. "C'mon, Skeeter."

With a jump that looked like nothing so much as an extra-large step, Ranma coiled himself atop the bridge railing, and started off, hands thrust in his coat pockets, whistling. Genma stayed on the bridge, but he followed obediently, with nothing more than a single glance at his students. Iruka watched them go, puzzled. Beside him, Hayate stepped closer, snow crunching under his boots. They watched Genma and his strange companion disappear around a corner, deeper into the riverside-district.

"You know, Hayate," Iruka said slowly, working it out in his head, "I think that man was important. I think...I think he's head of the Nekoken _yakuza_. I mean, I've never seen him, but Ryouga the pickpocket said the Nekoken's been getting big 'cause of their new leader, and Ryouga said his name was Ranma."

"You think? I mean, but Genma_-sensei_....." Hayate looked from Iruka to the corner around which Genma had vanished.

Iruka shrugged. "I dunno! But that'd be kinda cool, y'know, I mean, our Jounin-_sensei_ knowing the head of the Nekoken _yakuza_! I mean, the riverside district over here in the west side is all their territory, y'know? And they've been getting bigger, they've been picking up the orphans and pickpockets and taking them in all over the district."

"Be careful, they might pick you up." Hayate turned at last and started towards his home again, pattering off with complete confidence that Iruka should follow.

Which, of course, he did. "They won't! Because if they did, my _'Kaa-chan_ would come haunt them and drink their blood and they would be cursed and die!" Iruka skipped a few steps to catch up, feet plunking hollow on the bridge's boards. "And my _'Tou-chan_ would help, of course, 'cept he probably wouldn't drink their blood. Only _'Kaa-chan_ was as bloodthirsty as all that." Iruka nodded. "_ 'Tou-chan_ always said _'Kaa-chan_ was too bloodthirsty, and that's why she wasn't a good mother."

"She was kinda...odd," said polite little Hayate, who had met Hideko all of twice when she'd come to pick Iruka up from the Academy. Hideko had been quite memorable, even toned down for picking her child up from school.

Iruka vaguely remembered Hayate's parents. He knew them better from photographs than from memory. He did recall that Yahiko, Hayate's father, had been very kind and polite to his mother. He honestly couldn't recall if he had ever met Hayate's mother. Hayate's mother had been on semi-active duty. She probably hadn't had much time for picking up her child from school.

"Hey, if you're my blood-brother now, does that make me Hachiko-_san_'s nephew too?" Iruka asked, as the thought struck him out of the tangled memories and musings.

"_Eeto_? Don't be silly, Iruka. Of course you are." Hayate glanced up at him, all bright pleased eyes and smile hidden behind his scarf. "I think she'd adopt you if you'd let her. Hachiko_-basan_ likes you a lot, you know."

"But then I'd haveta be Ichigono, not Umino," Iruka protested. "Well, I can be her part-time nephew. Did you hear what Sasuke_-chan_ told me about that extra kid? The blonde one?" He took a breath to forge on, but paused when Hayate spoke up.

"I think his name was Naruto."

"Yeah, that one. Sasuke_-chan_ said he was their part-time brother. Said his parents were dead, so he stayed in the orphanage, but came to visit Sasuke and Itachi, part time. And so I guess that's what I do with you, see, 'cause I have my own house but I come stay with you and your aunt sometimes, like now while they're fixing my roof!" Iruka spread his arms to emphasize his point.

Hayate ducked, and Iruka slipped on a patch of ice. He scrambled but lost his balance and sat down hard. He blinked up at Hayate. "....ow."

Hayate had both hands over his scarf and mouth. Muffled laughter was still clear enough. Iruka blinked, and laughed as well, because he wasn't hurt and it was funny; he'd just fallen over like any normal person, even if he was a _ninja_. So he laughed. His butt was getting cold, though. Hayate offered him a hand, which was a bad idea. Even anchored with _chakra_ they both nearly wound up flat in the street. Laughing like a pair of loons, arm in arm, they marched off to Hachiko's house. People in the streets stopped and stared, but they didn't care.

* * *

**A/N: **Fishing for clues? They don't know Genma as well as they'd thought. And a little about Naruto.... Next chapter, more missions! Fun! Excitement! Unusual discoveries! And...Journey to the West?!

BECAUSE OF THANKSGIVING FALLING ON NEXT THURSDAY, I WILL BE UPDATING ON FRIDAY INSTEAD, ONE DAY LATE.

SIX reviews last chapter! An overwhelming and holiday thanks to: **WhyMustIWrite**, **Ally Plz**, **InARealPickle**, **Sonar**, the British **anon.**, and** alterulz**!

**Cha Cha1** is still at it, bless her heart! Much thanks and many cookies to her for continung her crusade against my typos and bad grammar habits! **Ally Plz** gets cookies this week, too, for helping point out my odd spellings of "alright," and for pointing out that I had switched up my consonants in spelling _ikuzo_.

See ya'll next week! A happy Thanksgiving to all my readers!

**Yosh** Alright, okay, also **yoshi**

**'Kaa-chan** Mother, properly **Okaa-san**. Iruka is using a childish form that's better translated as "Momma" or "Mommy."

**'Tou-chan** Father, properly **Otou-san**. Iruka is using the childish form here as well, "Poppa" or "Daddy."

**Sou da** That's so

**Yamero** Stop, male slangy version, properly **yame nasai**

**Ikuzo** Let's go, properly **ike masu**

**Eeto** Huh? or Eh? or other such interjection

**Ranma** and **Nekoken **are both from the anime/manga **Ranma 1/2**, as is the randomly-mentioned **Ryouga**! Ranma is the main character, and Nekoken is a style of fighting from the show.

"Skeeter" is the local slang 'round here for "mosquito," in case you were curious. "Minners" is the slurred pronounciation of "minnows."


	32. Ch 31: Scrolls of Legends

**A/N: **I know I promised you this update Friday. That was BEFORE I learned we had a wedding reception and a party to attend that day. Please forgive my lack of psychic foresight.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters. Nor do I own any of the quoes taken from Journey to The West, which are taken from the English version I own, translated by **Anthony C. Yu.**

**It's getting quite AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One: Scrolls of Legends**

* * *

_January 19-20_

"And the Great Monkey Sage mounted his auspicious luminosity and flew to....."

"What in the name of the Shodai Hokage are you reading?" Genma demanded, head popping up from behind a stack of boxes.

"Journey to the West, of course," Itachi replied from his precarious perch on the bookshelf. "This one's got pictures, even. Funny, I never knew the Monkey King looked like the Sandaime."

"Wah, _honto ni_? Lemme see!" Iruka demanded, pushing aside a box and bouncing over. Itachi looked alarmed and clutched the book to his chest with his good arm, leaning back and thrusting out a foot to keep Iruka from getting too close.

"Iruka, be gentle," Hayate scolded, through his dust-mask, and leaned over his box to retrieve another set of books to re-shelf.

"Hey, you're right! That's funny! I'll haveta ask Sandaime-_sama_ if he is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven! I'll ask him when I have tea with him tomorrow!" Iruka declared. "That would be so cool! You know, he's got a monkey-summons? So maybe he really is the Monkey Sage!"

Hayate shelved his books, coughed twice, and sat back on his heels to look up at Iruka. Iruka was gesturing as he babbled, and Itachi was leaning back into the bookshelf again, twisted around to keep his left arm away from the older boy's excited gestures.

"Iruka, stop talking and get back to work," Genma commanded, appearing again from behind his intimidating fortress of boxes. "If I have to tell you one more time, I'll make you regret it." The _senbon_ between his teeth waggled threateningly.

"_Hai_!" Iruka tossed Genma a careless salute and dove back into the bewildering forest of boxes, books, and shelves.

Itachi, safe once more on his perch, opened up the book again, and kicked his feet as he turned the pages with a soft whisper of paper and flesh. He found what he was looking for, and started reading again, his childish voice clear and sweet as he read the grand epic of the Monkey Sage and Tripitaka as they traveled to fetch the Buddhist Scriptures from India. Itachi read flawlessly, without stammer or hesitation. It was almost as if he was reciting the passage instead, and certainly his inflection and emphasis was placed perfectly to the story.

Hayate was glad for the distraction from the monotony of their task. He thought that was why Genma had not put Itachi back to work, like he had Iruka. Hayate dug in his box again, working steadily.

All of them had been assigned to work in an older section of the Hokage's library, clearing out older books and reshelving newer ones. The old books would be returned to a storage room, fate unknown. Hayate rather thought they would sit there and moulder, which was a sad fate for a book. They were meant to be read, after all, as Itachi was doing now. Itachi and Iruka had been assigned the task of clearing the shelves. Itachi had been working dutifully, despite his arm still in a sling, but had gotten mildly distracted, atop a bookshelf, by a particularly intriguing volume. So now he kicked his feet in time to the rhythm of his words as he read. Iruka was still working away, pulling books out and plunking them into boxes. Genma was rapidly making lists of the books in boxes and taping them shut. Genma wrote in a neat, astonishingly fast short-hand.

The books Hayate was shelving might have been newer, but the covers beneath his hands were aged and worn. The ones Iruka was pulling off the shelves were ancient, bindings cracked and worn, pages yellowed. There was the smell of dust and must and the utterly delicious scent of old books. Some of the books, including the one Itachi was reading from, were bound in leather, and that smell was glorious, tantalizing little whiffs. Hayate tugged his dust-mask higher and kept working.

It was nice and warm in here, and it was more work than Hayate had thought to be moving books around. Of course, there were a lot of books, at least ten cases they were to clear and reshelve. The cases were quite tall--Itachi was only half-way up the one, and Iruka had only been able to reach him by standing in tiptoe. The tallest shelves were only accessible by Genma reaching, though they had at last found a step-stool and freed Genma to the more complicated task of sorting.

"...and the Great Monkey Sage led the dragon-horse to his master Tripitaka..."

Hayate hesitated. "Iruka, you didn't clear this shelf." There was a set of scrolls tucked against the back of the book-case. He could put the books in, but that would hide the scrolls again.

"What? Of course I did!" Iruka hopped up and scrambled around boxes and piles of books to where Hayate sat. Up on his shelf, Itachi stopped reading, a finger poised on the page to keep his place. He peered down on them like a sort of _kami_ of the bookshelves or other such guarding spirit.

"No, you didn't," Hayate answered, and tugged gently at the scrolls. They looked incredibly old, but to his surprise they didn't feel as fragile as they should have. Iruka crouched down beside him, and he too reached down and pulled out a scroll.

"Ack, that's old _kanji_." Iruka squinted, and flipped the scroll around. "Oh, hey, it reads much better when it's rightside up!"

"_Konoha no Tsuki Ryu_," Hayate read. "Moon of Konoha style? Style of what?" He glanced at the scroll in his own hands. There was no seal, merely a length of rattan twine knotted elegantly around it. Hayate fingered the complicated knots.

Iruka turned the scroll over and around. "I dunno, it doesn't say. These look kinda important, don't you think? Wonder why they were shoved back there. How many are there?"

"Um, four, I think." Hayate set the scroll on in his lap and reached down to pull the others loose. Including the one Iruk had and the one in Hayate's lap, there were six scrolls altogether. Each was tied with the same string, rough but elegantly knotted. The paper looked old and frayed at the edges, but it felt smooth and supple, not brittle. Nothing flaked away under Iruka's curious fingers, not even the gilding around the ends.

"How weird! Hey, Genma_-sensei_, come check these out! I think Hayate found something important!" Iruka called.

"They're all labeled the same, so they're probably scrolls from an old discipline of some sort," Itachi chirped, from his high perch. "Maybe _taijutsu_, the way they're bound up. Something that needed to be kept safe, but not enough to put a seal on it."

Genma came padding over at last, having picked his way around the maze of books and boxes. "Huh. What have you brats got now?"

Hayate held up a scroll, leaning back a little to look up at his teacher. "These were shoved in the back of the book-case," he answered.

Genma took the scroll, curiosity in his eyes.

He looked quite different from when Hayate and Iruka had seen him, just five days ago, in the presence of a gang member. He was clean and his hair very neat, in uniform. Though his speech was a little rough, a little slangy, it was clear and acceptable. But it had really been him--Hayate was able to sense _chakra_-signatures, and those did not lie. He couldn't get a feel for them as well as Iruka could, but that would come with time and practise.

"The name's not familiar to me," Genma said, at last. "No hint on any of the others as to what they might be?"

Hayate turned them all over, as they sat in his lap. "No, nothing."

"I think they're important!" Iruka declared. "I think we should take them up to the Hokage and let him see what we found! He might know something about them!" Iruka bounced to his feet, narrowly missing whacking his head on Itachi's foot. "We should go now! He's still in his office, his meeting isn't until later, and then he could tell us what they are!"

"Easy, brat." Genma gave Iruka droll look, eyes half-lidded. "We've still got a job to do. The scrolls will keep. Been there who-knows-how-long in the back of that shelf, and they can wait a little longer."

"And besides, we're almost done," Itachi volunteered, tucked his feet back to keep them away from Iruka.

"Aaaw, you guys have no sense of adventure!" Iruka scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.

Hayate smiled and chuckled at him. The itch at the back of his throat escalated, and he had to cough before he could speak again. It wasn't bad, just a quick short fit. "The faster we finish, the faster we can find out what's in them." Iruka gave him an uncertain look. Hayate smiled and shrugged at him.

"Hayate has a point. Give them to me, and I'll put them by our coats, so we won't forget." Genma tucked the one on the crook of his arm and reached down. Hayate nodded and handed him the rest, one by one.

Iruka sighed dramatically, and put on a ridiculous pout. "But that's not as much fun as dashing up now and showing off our amazing discovery! I mean, what if they're super important and by giving them to the Hokage now we can save Konoha from the secret sub-plots of the united forces of the wicked Iwa-nin and the Kumo-nin and become the honored heroes of Konoha!"

Genma bliked at him, sniggered, then laughed outright, low and deep. "Nice try. Back to work, brat."

With an exaggerated sigh, Iruka turned and picked his way back to his final shelf. Genma, still chuckling, turned and went back to his task. Hayate and Ittachi looked at each-other and shared a shrug. Itachi smiled a little at Hayate, which gave him a nice warm feeling. Itachi didn't smile all that often, so it was a sort of treat. And Iruka wasn't seriously upset. In fact, he was working away quite busily, if the sound of books clunking was any indication. Hayate glanced back at Itachi, on his high perch.

"You look like some _kami_, up high like that." The thought had occurred to him earlier, and Hayate thought it amusing.

"Eh?" Itachi blinked at him, then a smile sparked warmth into his ash-grey eyes. "I am the _kami_ of the books, of course. Guardian of knowledge. Bow before me, puny mortal."

"I refuse!" Iruka declared, muffled.

Both Hayate and Itachi turned to look in his direction. Solemnly, Itachi raised a hand, and whipped a pointing finger at Iruka. "Ka-fzzt!"

Iruka blinked. "...what?"

"I have struck you with my lightning. Writhe." Itachi grinned, bright and wicked.

The same delighted wickedness lit Iruka's face and made him grin his sharkiest grin. "Oh no!" he declared, dramatically. "I have been struck down by the _kami_ of the books! Woe is me, ahhh, I perish in misery and agony aaaaaaaargh!" He flopped over backwards, vanishing from Hayate's line of sight.

"What are you brats up to now?" Genma demanded, rearing up from behind his boxes.

With a perfectly straight face, Itachi pointed at him and declared, "Ka-POW!"

For a moment, there was incredulous silence. Iruka sniggered, hands clapped over his mouth, ultramarine eyes wide and bright with laughter. Hayate couldn't help but want to laugh, because Genma just looked so bewildered. Itachi's perfectly straight face quivered, and broke into that wicked little grin. He threw his head back and cackled, high and delighted. Hayate had to laugh, then, because Itachi's childish little laugh was just infectious. Iruka was already rolling around howling with laughter.

"...I missed that joke," Genma admitted, and smiled, _senbon_ rolling easily to the corner of his mouth with the motion. "I thought you boys wanted to know about these scrolls? You can't work if you're goofing off, you know."

"Right, right!" Iruka bounced back up. "To work! With the blessing of the _kami_, of course!" He made a mock-bow in Itachi's direction.

Itachi waved a hand imperiously. "Of course, puny mortals. Continue." He was trying to hold a straight face, but a grin kept peeking through.

With a smile on his lips and curiosity for the scrolls coiled in his mind, Hayate went back to work. High above, Itachi's place-holding finger whispered on his page again.

"....Tripikata had no choice but to follow the Monkey Sage's suggestion and climbed onto the bare-backed horse...."

* * *

Hayate felt a bit nervous as he followed Iruka up the stairs into the Hokage's tower. It was true, he'd been invited, but the sight of the masked ANBU was still a little alarming. Iruka seemed to have no such reservations, greeting each ANBU with a cheerful word. The ANBU acknowledged them with little nods, and on into the Hokage's office they went. The Hokage himself was seated at his desk, and seemed to be clearing away a set of papers. There were two chairs pulled up to the front of the desk, and a tray set amidst the paper-piles.

"Sandaime_-sama_, _konbanwa_!" Iruka greeted, smiling.

"Ah, Iruka. And I see you brought Hayate_-kun_ as well." Sarutobi nodded gracefully to them both. "I hope you two have not been down at the memorial all this time, it's quite cold out there."

And snowing, Hayate thought. This visit would be a short one, as short as courtesy would allow. There was a storm due soon. The slow fluffy flakes drifting down now were coming from ink-black clouds that promised a wild storm. The wind was not yet rising, but as soon as it did, it wouldn't take long for the storm to break free.

"No sir, but I went out this morning. Hayate came to get me, and we burned some incense," Iruka reported. He left out the fact that Hayate had come soon after breakfast and found Iruka had been at the stone since dawn, and Hayate hadn't been able to persuade him away until an hour before lunch.

"I see. Please, have a seat." Sarutobi began rearranging the implements on the tray--a steaming teapot, three cups, a plate of crackers and sweets. He gestured to the chairs in front of his desk.

Iruka pattered forward and took a seat, gesturing Hayate over. Hayate climbed up a bit nervously, because it was the Hokage, after all. But the Third's smile was welcoming and kindly, and his speech was only gently polite, not stiff with formality. He poured the tea with an expert hand, graceful and without a single spill.

"How are your lessons going, Iruka? You said you were having trouble with one of your father's scrolls?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yeah, a little, but I think I've almost got it," Iruka answered cheerily. "It's just a matter of refining my _chakra_ down into the right level. Breaking up a clot in the blood is harder than forming one in the first place. The body resists it a lot more." Iruka blew gently on his steaming tea, and added thoughtfully, "And cats and rats aren't that much like people, so that might be why I'm having trouble."

"Hmm." Sarutobi smiled a little. "You haven't asked Genma about medical _jutsu_ yet? He knows a good deal, you know."

"Well, he's not a medic anymore, he says. And even if he was, he probably only knows Konoha _jutsu_, not Kiriga." Iruka frowned a little. "But I guess I could ask him."

"Well, isn't the theory a little the same?" Hayate interjected, hesitantly. He didn't know too much about medical _jutsu_, but he thought he knew enough to offer a suggestion. "So even if you're learning different things, Genma_-sensei_ might still could help you."

"Hayate-_kun_ has a point, Iruka," the Hokage agreed. "You should talk to him. After all, he is your teacher, and it's his job to help you."

Iruka nodded a little, biting his lip. "I guess," he relented. "When I see him next, maybe."

Hayate blew on his tea. The cup was almost too-warm in his hands, so he had to keep shifting his fingers to keep from feeling burned. He knew if he took a sip now, he'd scald his tongue. And from the way it smelled, it was good tea, and he honestly wanted to taste it.

"If it storms, do you get to cancel all your meetings?" Iruka asked, swinging his legs and tapping the toes of his boots against the Hokage's desk. "And go spend time with your family?"

The Hokage chuckled. "I do get to cancel all my meetings, but I have been spending the time revising paperwork." He gestured to the piles across his desk. "Though tomorrow I will go and visit my daughter. You know, I will be a grandfather soon."

"Really? Oh, that's cool!" Iruka declared.

"Congratulations," Hayate offered, and blushed in pleasure when the Hokage turned a proud smile to him.

"Yes, Asuka is four months pregnant." The Hokage sipped his tea and smiled. "I'm glad she's found a man to settle with at last. It's a wonderful thing for a father to see his children happy, you know. If only Asuma could be so fortunate....but then, he is busy with a Genin team." Sarutobi's eyes sparkled, and he chuckled at the two boys in front of his desk, both Genin.

"Yeah, we keep Genma-_sensei_ hopping!" Iruka laughed. "Especially yesterday, when Itachi the _kami_ of the books struck him down with his mystical lightning. Genma-_sensei_ never saw it coming!"

"Shouldn't an Uchiha-spirit have mystical fireballs, instead?" Sarutobi asked, in all apparent seriousness.

"Of course not," Iruka said with disdain. "He was being the spirit of the books! And everyone knows books burn too easily!"

"I think lightning is easier to direct, anyway," Hayate added in, encouraged by Iruka's easy manner and Sarutobi's gentle smile.

"And certainly more mystical than fireballs. I see my error now." Sarutobi smiled. "However, speaking of yesterday, I have something to tell you about those scrolls you found."

A thrill went through Hayate, and he and Iruka exchanged eager looks. The mystery would be solved at last. They looked back expectantly at the Hokage, who was withdrawing the scrolls from a drawer in his desk. As Iruka opened his mouth to ask, the Sandaime held up a hand, forestalling any question.

"They are quite old, dating back from before Konoha's founding. They record an ancient style of _ninjutsu_, one that fell out of fashion during my first stint as Hokage. The _Konoha no Tsuki Ryu_ combines _ninjutsu_ techniques with _kenjutsu_, a unique and unusual combination." Sarutobi's eyes were bright in his wrinkled face. "I thought you might be interested in looking at them, Hayate-_kun_. I know your chosen weapon is the _katana_, and Genma has told me you are quite good."

Surprise made Hayate take in a breath, eagerness and pleasure warming him as nicely as the tea had his hands. "Oh! Really?" When the Hokage nodded, Hayate set his tea on the desk and picked up one of the scrolls. It had already been untied, and he unfurled it gently.

In bold ink were words of introduction and instruction, alongside old-fashioned illutrations of the steps described. Hayate's eyes widened as he skimmed the first bit of text his gaze caught, which described infusing _chakra_ into the footwork of a basic attack pattern, one of the few universal moves in all sword disciplines. He already did that, but this was different, cleaner, and he could see how much better it would work. Delighted, he looked up at the benevolently-smiling Hokage, grinning so widely his cheeks hurt.

"Can I really look at them?" he asked, voice rasping harsh. "I mean, is it okay?"

"Certainly. In fact, you may keep them." Sarutobi gestured to the scrolls. "There are very few _ninja_ who choose the _katana_ as a weapon. The standard _ninjato_ is a blade far more suited to _shinobi_ work. This style has nearly died out entirely. I don't know of any _shinobi_ in the village who currently practises this style. It would be quite a shame to see it die entirely."

"That's so cool!" Iruka cheered, leaning over eagerly to see the scroll. "I mean, so neat! You can have a super-secret _jutsu_ like me! And then we can be such an awesome-cool team, with me and my _jutsu_ and you and your sword and Itachi and his fireballs and Genma and his wicked poisons! It'd be so cool! Thanks so much, Hokage-_sama__**, **_this is so cool!"

"_Hai, domo arigatou gozaimasu_," Hayate breathed, rolling the scroll up reverently.

Sarutobi smiled. "_Dou itashimashite_." He nodded, and looked out the window. "Oh my. It's starting to snow harder. Looks like the wind is starting to pick up, too. You boys might want to start home now, before it gets worse."

Hayate twisted around to see. The Hokage had spoken rightly. The storm was beginning to start. He turned back to Iruka, anxiety gnawing through his earlier delight. "Oh, we need to start for home, and hurry, if we're gonna make it."

Iruka nodded. "It's a long way to your house from here! Thanks again, Hokage_-sama_!"

"Yes, thank you so much." Hayate hopped off his chair and bowed deeply.

Sarutobi inclined his head gently in return. "Here, Iruka, you may carry three, and Hayate_-kun_ may carry these two as well. Be careful on your way home, boys."

"We will!" Iruka cheered. "Goodbye!"

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**A/N**: Whoo! We now have the groundwork of Hayate learning his "Cresent Moon Dance" attack. Among other things. Things are moving along. We'll see next chapter exactly how close the team has been getting--and how much trouble one little eight-year-old can get himself into. Next chapter: Itachi! Arguing! Return of familar-but-not-so-welcome faces! And a cameo appearance by Asuma!

**CHECK MY PROFILE FOR LINKS TO FANART, MOST ESPECIALLY THE **"Panda!Genma Versus Naruto!Genma" **CHALLENGE SET TO ME BY Evil Kasumi**!

EIGHT REVIEWS last chapter! I sang and danced. No, seriously. Scared the dog half-to-death. Uh, right. A fantastic and overwhelming thanks to: **InARealPickle**, **Evil Kasumi**, **Ally Plz**, **Ryo Yuriko**, **BlackDove-alchemist**, **The British One (anon.)**, **WhyMustIWrite**, and **alterulz**!

To **Ryo Yuriko**: Thanks for your support, and good luck in the hospital! I'll be praying for you.

To **BlackDove-alchemist**: How funny! You must be the Australian reader the stats say I have. How cool!

To **WhyMustIWrite**: Yes, you're onto me! Genma's "street slang" is nothing a Southern accent rendered phonetically. It's not the "Southern gentleman" accent, but the "trash" accent you hear in the older parts of town and among casual friends. I did consider rendering it as the "coloured" dialect, but decided against it. As much fun as that would have been, I didn't think that all my readers would understand it.

**Honto ni** Really, can be question or answer

**Hai** Yes

**Kanji** Chinese characters, adopted by the Japanese for their own writing and use

**Konoha no Tsuki Ryu** Loosely translated as Moon of Konoha Style. This is my own attempt to name the sword-style that Hayate uses in the manga, completely fan-based.

**Kami** Guardian spirit or god, from the **Shinto** belief system, the most common religion in Japan

**Iwa-nin **and **Kumo-nin** Rock and Cloud ninja respectively

**Konbanwa** Good afternoon

**Kenjutsu** Fighting with the sword

**Ninjato** The shorter, straighter blade supposedly used by ninja, not a katana or wakizashi

**Domo arigatou gozaimasu** Thank you very much, the very formal phrase. Hayate is being super-polite!

**Dou itashimashite** You're very welcome, the very formal phrase. Sarutobi is also being super-polite.


	33. Ch 32: Watch Your Temper

**A/N:** Two weeks left in school! AGH THE FINALS!

...see the author indulge in a panic attack.

Right! I own no Naruto character...but the Terrible Trio down there are my creations.

**It's decidedly ****AU****!**

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**Chapter 32: Watch Your Temper**

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_January 30_

"Wow, that is exciting," Itachi said, lowly. "So those scrolls were sorta important, huh?"

Hayate nodded. "_Aa_. If we get done early today, you can come by and see them. Hachiko-_basan_ said it was okay."

Itachi debated, and thrust his shoulder up under the beam Hayate was trying to lift. Together they levered it out of the wreckage. "We'll see. We might not get done early at all." Despite his not-answer, Hayate smiled at him.

"Sure we will!" Iruka declared, swooping down to heft the beam. "Genma_-sensei_ says we get another Genin team to help! But they're late."

Itachi snorted, and as the beam started to slip, reached up with both hands to steady it.

"Itachi! Get that arm back in your sling!" Genma snapped. He stepped in and helped them heft the two-by-four. "Ashes, brat, you're more trouble than you're worth."

Itachi refrained from kicking Genma in the shin. He really wanted to do it, but it just wasn't something you did to your Jounin_-sensei_. "Then what am I supposed to do?" he asked instead, trying to keep his tone polite.

"Our team is supposed to stack bricks and pull nails," Genma answered. It was still cold, and he had no _senbon_ between his teeth, but he paused as if he were rolling one from one side of his mouth to the other. "But since the other team is late, we're doing their job."

The "job" was clearing up a collapsed storage shed belonging to the _Ninja _Academy. Genma had grumbled about getting the mission, as one of his Genin still had his arm in a sling, but it was the only thing left at the missions office that had been ranked D. So here they were, in the cold and faint snow, working away. The shed was pretty flat, though most of the snow had been cleared away and the random training equipment--mostly battered targets--had been retrieved. The job of getting the mess into some sort of order had been delegated to Genin.

"If you grab that hammer," Genma continued, as he and Hayate and Iruka laid the beam down the the slowly-growing pile, "You can start pulling nails. Watch your elbows, though."

_"Elbows?"_ Itachi wondered, but said nothing. Genma generally gave warnings for a reason, no matter how odd they sounded. He sighed, adjusted his sling, and trudged through the light snowfall to the pile of lumber. Iruka gave him a careless shrug, and Hayate a mournful little glance. Itachi resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at them. He was just so tired of being coddled. Everyone, from his mother to his cousins to Genma, kept telling him to keep his sling on. Itachi didn't see what difference it made. He got his sling off tomorrow. His arm had stopped hurting within the first week. He'd actually been using it and training again all this week, just where no-one could see him. It felt fine.

He almost wished Genma would make Iruka come work with him, because then Itachi could bicker with him. Iruka was good for an argument, without getting upset or turning it into too much play. Itachi rather liked squabbling with Iruka. It was like fighting with Shisui....though Shisui would pull the annoying older-than-you tone and start teasing him, and Itachi despised that. Iruka was nice and prickly and ready for any sort of confrontation.

Itachi hefted the hammer--it was big in his hands--and started prying nails out of the beam. It was harder than he'd first thought--the nails were in there quite solidly, and some were bent and crooked. He set a boot on the beam to help his leverage, and went back to his musings.

Hayate would often try to smooth things down between Itachi and Iruka, but he seemed to know when it was for fun and when it was getting serious. He mostly listened, with those calm dark eyes and quiet smile. Hayate wasn't much good for verbal sparring, but Itachi had found the older boy was a wonderful partner to practise weaponry with. Especially with the hated _tonfa_. Itachi really despised the weapons. They limited him, because of his small size and lack of strength. It was better, he thought, for him to focus on _ninjustu_ and _taijutsu_.

Long-held tradition, however, said every Uchiha had be able to use _tonfa_ to a certain level. Itachi knew better than to try and buck tradition. For a little while, though, he'd hid the _tonfa_ on his way to team meetings, and skipped out on taking them on missions. Then Katsura--an older cousin and a nasty tale-bearer--had found him out and told Fugaku. Itachi had no choice, now. He knew, however he did not want to admit it, that the extra practise really was helping.

Especially sparring against Hayate, who was far closer to his own size than either Fugaku or Shisui, both Itachi's regular partners. Hayate was fast and agile, and though the _tonfa_ were the best advantage over _katana_, specifically designed to counter the sword, the older boy won more often than not. It was a challenge to keep up and try to best him, and Itachi liked challenges.

The nail he'd been pulling on came free at last, and Itachi figured out why Genma had warned him to watch his elbows. The sudden release made Itachi's arm slip, and he jabbed himself in the stomach with his own elbow. He huffed and coughed, and glared at the nail wedged firmly in the claw of the hammer. One down. Great. Who-knew-how-many to go. He pried the nail loose and set it in the little box nearby, then attacked the beam again.

Genma's shout, three nails later, made Itachi jump. "_OI_! Asuma! You're flaming late!"

"Paperwork!" called the other man. Itachi straightened and looked curiously at the approaching team. The Jounin was Sarutobi Asuma, son of the third Hokage. Itachi blinked in surprise, and stared at the Genin trailing after him. They were obviously older, two boys and a girl. The two boys looked like trouble, elbowing and jostling each-other. The girl looked disdainful and bored. Itachi shrugged, and got back to work.

"We'll take over the lifting, and you can let yours take a break," Asuma was saying, voice rough and easy. He was smoking, and Itachi wrinkled his nose as the smoke drifted over to him. He heard Hayate bark a cough.

"I can get Hayate to stack the tiles, and Iruka can help lifting," Genma replied. "He's tall enough to make a fair match."

"Right. Ogano, Hideki, stop goofing off and get your butts over here!" Asmua snapped, voice taking on that ring of command. "Yurika, you get the end with Iruka, over there. Hop to it, we don't have all day!"

Itachi glanced up between nails, and watched them start working. He saw a sudden wary look on Iruka's face, and it startled him. Hayate looked a bit anxious as he passed Itachi, arms full of roofing tiles. Itachi frowned, and sat back on his heels to study the new-comers more closely. Genma and Asuma were working closely with them all, but Itachi thought he saw a certain watchfulness in their faces. The girl, Yurika, still looked bored and disdainful, making a wry face at Iruka before she set in beside him. The two boys, though, looked at Iruka and exchanged glances Itachi did not like.

"Keep working, Itachi," Genma called, casting a sharp amber-eyed look his way.

Itachi nodded, and bent over the current piece of plywood. He wrenched at the nail, and was pleased when it came free without too much trouble. The next one, though, was far more stubborn. He had to stop and move out of the way when Hideki and Ogano came over with a beam. Hideki offered a pleasant enough nod, but Ogano ignored him entirely. Itachi decided he did not like Ogano at all.

Itachi set to work again. It wasn't a difficult task, really, but it was tricky with one arm. He braced a foot on the splintered board and pulled. The nail didn't budge. Itachi scowled, and tried again, from a different angle. Still no motion

An idea occurred to him. Genma had been teaching them the groundwork and applications of using _chakra_ to strengthen blows and blocks. Iruka had been helping Itachi refine the basics of it. The idea was a good one, and Itachi could definitely see it working outside of battle. Like now. With a surreptitious glance at the Jounin, Itachi channeled _chakra_ into his arm, coiling it around muscles and bone in tiny tendrils, the smallest he could manage.

This pull the nail came free with the shriek of metal against wood, and Itachi nearly tumbled over backwards. He'd miscalculated the force and resistance. He caught himself with more _chakra_ before he wound up flat on his behind. He looked up at the Jounin again--no one was paying him a whit of attention. Everyone, even Hayate, was working at a particularly stubborn board. Itachi grinned to himself. He wasn't supposed to put into practise what they'd learned until they'd finished learning about it and Genma could supervise them. Itachi could see why it was a good rule...but it was a boring one. Besides, he understood the theory, and it had obviously worked. He just needed to adjust the amount of chakra and how he balanced his weight.... He hooked the hammer around another nail and gave it a test-tug.

There was a sudden commotion, and a high female shriek. Itachi jumped to his feet and whirled. The girl was on her knees, Hayate was doubled over coughing, and Iruka was rolling back to his feet. The beam they'd been pulling on had come free, apparently unexpectedly. The girl was shrieking again, though, and holding her head. Itachi dropped the hammer and trotted over to see what was going on.

As he reached them, Genma and Asuma had converged on the girl. "Hush, hush," Genma was saying. "Get your hands off, I can't see....Asuma, get her hands."

Hayate was mostly upright again, but with a hand over his stomach. He was leaning heavily on Iruka. Itachi eyed the tangle of screaming girl and Asuma and Genma, and went to his team-mates. He wasn't overly concerned with her--the Jounin would make it right. Though Hayate was still wheezing, neither he nor Iruka looked too distressed. "What happened? I missed it," Itachi told them.

"It came loose," Iruka declared. "Real fast. I think Yurika smacked her head on that post, and Hayate got the wind knocked out of him. I fell over! But we're all good. Is she bleeding?"

"Scalp wound," reported Hideki, coming to stand by them. He glanced at Hayate, eyebrow raised. Itachi did the same. Hayate was breathing in the too-regular, careful manner that meant he was trying not to start coughing, Itachi knew.

"She'll be fine, if she stops screaming," Ogano sighed, as he joined the clustered Genin. "Overdoes everything..." His frown turned into a little smirk as he saw Hayate leaning on Iruka.

Itachi stiffened, warily. He didn't like that look.

"Girls always carry on," Ogano said, lightly, smiling turning ugly. "Surprised yours is being so quiet--haven't hacked up a lung yet, Hayate-_chan_?" He put a mockingly sweet tone on the question.

Iruka bristled, dark eyes sparking, a snarl baring his teeth. "Lay off, Ogano," he growled.

Itachi drew in a little breath as he felt how Iruka's _chakra_ chilled, perilously close to killing intent. The other two boys' _chakra_ was merely aggressive, not deadly. Itachi shivered, feeling small and vulnerable, then angry. He didn't like feeling like that, and besides, they were insulting his team-mates. All his earlier frustration sparked up again, and he slid closer to Iruka. If there was going to be trouble, he was going to be a part of it.

Hayate opened his mouth, looking upset, but before he could speak, Hideki jumped in. "Defending your girlfriend? How nice, Scar-face."

Itachi's opinion of the boy hit rock bottom. "Hey!" he snapped. When both boys turned to him, he stepped in front of Hayate and Iruka. He stood his tallest and still had to tilt his head back to meet Ogano's gaze. "Do you have a problem with my team-mates?" he asked, mockingly polite.

"Itachi..." rasped Hayate, and Iruka drew a breath. Itachi ignored them. Iruka got in enough trouble, and Hayate was still having a hard time breathing. Besides, he was part of this team, too. He wasn't going to stand back and watch them take abuse. He was going to do something about it.

"Maybe I do." Ogano grinned down at Itachi. "Got something to say about it, Shorty?"

The insult to his lack of height was just too much, a strike directly into the vulnerabilities he'd felt earlier. Anger licked hot in response, shoving at his Shaningan, stirring his _chakra_. Itachi nodded, set his feet, and lunged. _Chakra_ flared hot and angry through his limbs, and the impact of his knuckles across Ogano's face was utterly satisfying. With surprise and _chakra_ on his side, the blow knocked the older boy down. Itachi swept back into an attack stance, slipping his left arm free of its sling, and glared at Hideki, daring the other boy to step in. He wished he would--he wanted a fight now, and punching Ogano had felt good, even if his knuckles were aching.

Hands--Iruka or Hayate's--fisted in the back of his shirt even as Genma descended. "Flying tree fungus, you brat! What are you doing? Get your arm back into that smoking sling!" he thundered, hand clenching down on Itachi's shoulder and spinning him around. "That's a fellow _ninja_ you just hit!"

Unrepentant, Itachi tried to shrug off Genma's hand--the grip pinched. "He was making trouble," he declared.

"Genma, get over here," Asuma said, from where he knelt over Ogano--who was still down. "You're the medic.

"What?" Genma's tone shifted from angry to puzzled. He dragged Itachi over with him, glaring at him. "Asuma, watch the others, since they can't be trusted to not fight."

That felt unfair, and Itachi bristled, trying to shrug off Genma's hand again. He didn't like being manhandled. Iruka and Hayate hadn't done anything, though Iruka had looked moments away from exploding. Genma let go at last, and Itachi stepped back a few steps, rubbing his shoulder and scowling. Asuma reached out and dropped a heavy hand into Itachi's shoulder, pinning him down. Itachi couldn't quite bring himself to glare at the Hokage's son. Instead he glared down at his boots.

"You shouldn't antagonize your fellow _ninja_," Asuma rumbled. "That goes for all of you. We're all on the same side. We're all Konoha _shinobi_, and we should work together even if you don't get along. Is he okay, Genma?"

Genma said a very interesting phrase. He leaned back and eyed Itachi. "Brat, how did you do that? You flaming broke his jaw." Itachi blinked. Asuma swore. "Well, brat?" Genma prodded.

Itachi couldn't tell if Genma was still upset or just curious. The young man's voice had gone alarmingly neutral. Itachi shifted uneasily under Asuma's hand. "I put _chakra_ into it."

Genma blinked. "....you put _chakra_ into the blow. After only learning the theory."

Itachi nodded, and shrugged at Asuma's hand.

Genma glanced at Asuma. "You walk the others to the hospital. I'll take this one and your girl. Come over here, Yurika." The girl, holding a handkerchief over her head and sniffling, shuffled closer. "Hold into my flak vest, I'll need one hand to get your partner...."

With a lightning-flash of _chakra_, all three were gone, with a quiet drifting of smoke in their wake. For a moment there was silence, before Asuma spoke. "Well. How exciting." He took his hand from Itachi's shoulder. "Put your arm back in your sling," he rumbled.

Itachi obeyed, even though he really didn't want to. He glared sullenly at the remaining member of Asuma's team. Hideki, bereft of support, cringed and looked worried. Itachi sneered--a follower, without any initiative of his own. Asmua cleared his throat pointedly. Itachi looked down at his boots and scowled, rubbing his fingers along the edge of his sling. It wasn't like he had initiated the whole thing. He'd just been the one to throw the first blow--because it would have come to it, anyway, what with the way Iruka had been glaring.

"Our job here is almost done," Asuma said. "In fact, I bet we can finish up and meet Genma at the hospital in plenty of time." He surveyed them all, then looked down at Itachi. "When do you get out of your sling?"

"Tomorrow," Itachi answered, warily.

Asuma quirked a half-a-smile at him. "Here's how we're doing this. Curly over there and Hideki will pull nails, Umino-brat and you will stack the rest of the tiles, and I will get the last of the boards. And we're hurrying, but I don't want any more injuries."

"His name's Hayate," Iruka interjected.

"Can I use both hands?" Itachi added.

Asuma reached into a pocket and produced a pack of cigarettes. He tapped one free of the pack, stuck it in his mouth, and put the pack away. "We're hurrying, Uchiha," he answered around it, and winked at Itachi. "I'm over here lifting boards, not supervising you. Get your job done."

"That's a yes," Iruka hissed. "C'mon, quick, before he changes his mind!"

Itachi blinked, irritation washing away, and offered a tiny smile before he trotted over to join Iruka. Hayate pushed off Iruka, with a little smile and nod to Itachi. Iruka made faces at Hideki, before he whirled to help Itachi gather up the scattered tiles.

"Hideki's okay, when you get him away from Ogano," Iruka declared in a conspiratorial tone. "Even Hayate can make him behave. That was a good shot, Itachi! Who showed you how?"

Itachi stripped off his sling, wadded it up, and shoved it in a pocket, with a sigh of relief. Freedom at last! "Nobody. I figured it out. It's like tree-walking, sorta, only without touching anything outside of yourself." He bent down and started stacking the heavy clay tiles into an arm.

Iruka frowned, bending to the same task. "Huh. I never thought about it that way. I guess you're right. But nobody showed you?"

Itachi wondered if Iruka thought he was stupid. From theory to application wasn't that hard. "No," he answered, letting annoyance clip his tone. "I'm not dumb."

"I didn't say you were!" Iruka, arms full, headed for the stack of tiles Hayate had already started. "It's just that using _chakra_ to make yourself stronger is tricky, see? It takes a bit to get the hang of it, and do it right without hurting yourself. Your arm doesn't hurt? I mean, the muscles don't sting or anything, do they?"

Itachi shook his head. His hair, longish and starting to get in the way, frayed across his face. He needed to either get it cut, or learn to put it in a ponytail, like his cousin Shisui's. "No." He considered it, as he reached up with a gloved hand to push away the hair. "My hand's a little sore, though."

"People's faces are hard," Iruka chuckled, over the clack of the tiles as they stacked them. "Next time, hit him in the solar plexus."

"_Hai. Wakatta_." Itachi grinned, and was oddly pleased with how Iruka grinned back, sharkish and wild.

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**A/N: **Uh-oh, now even Itachi's becoming a delinquent. Whatever shall we do? Of course, Asuma is not helping....

Next chapter, we skip some time and discover the consequences of behaving badly! Rain! Misery! Genma gets badly injured!

SEVEN REVIEWS! See me sing and dance between panicking over finals. A humongous thanks to: **BlackDove-alchemist**, **Ally Plz**, **Sonar**, **Ryo Yuriko**, **InARealPickle**, **WhyMustIWrite**, and ** The British One (anon.)**!

A continuing thanks to **Cha Cha1**, who is still at work proof-reading for me! She's almost caught up, let's all cheer for her! She gets some of my Dove milk-chocolate squares I bought yesterday, to de-stress after my first final exam.

**Tonfa** Weapons wielded in a pair, in each hand. Related to nightclubs used by policemen, but not the same. You can Wikipedia or Google it for pictures and descriptions better than I can produce.

**-chan** Honorific usually denoting affection or endearment. Often used with young children and girls, when **-kun** is more often used with boys

**Wakatta** I understand


	34. Ch 33: Out Of Sorts

**A/N:** HAPPY NEW YEAR! I thought about posting this at twelve last night, but I was too involved in the family tradition--going to bed early on New Year's Eve and sleeping in.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters!

**It's kinda ****AU****!**

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**Chapter Thirty Three: Out-Of-Sorts**

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_February 13_

Apparently, the Hokage and the Chief of Police had the same remedy for misbehaving Genin: send them out of Konoha. Genma stared at the grey rain and decided he must have done something awful in a past life to deserve this. Like drowning puppies. Or something. The long-suffering sigh that drifted on the chill air expressed his sentiments exactly, though he hadn't sighed. He glanced down and across to Iruka, who was fidgeting slightly. Guard duty was not a job suited to Iruka's irrepressible personality. It required the boy to be still, which he just wasn't very good at. _"Well,"_ Genma amended, _"He can be still for a stalk or ambush. Just not sentinel duty."_

Hayate and Itachi, both perched just out of immediate sight behind the client's chair, were much better at being still. They were also less impressive, both being so small. Genma glanced back at the two. From where he stood, he could just see them. To his amusement, he saw they were playing one of the hand-games that helped with _chakra_ control. They were being very subtle, though not perfectly attentive to their task. He let them be.

Their mission was not particularly dangerous. It was a low C-rank, and though far from Konoha it wasn't difficult. They were currently acting as the bodyguards of one Sato Chikamasa, traveling monk. The man was a sort of negotiator between several small villages. He had recently offended one of the village leaders. The man he had slighted was a vengeful sort, and while Chikamasa trusted in his neutral status as peace-keeper and holy man, he had decided a small show of force was necessary. The man was bland as they came and very good at being inoffensive. Genma didn't think he could imagine the old monk insulting anyone, but he also knew very well how deceptive appearances--and actions--could be. Chikamasa had confided to his _shinobi _guards that he honestly did not expect any action to be taken against him. They were merely here as a deterrent.

They were currently in Horomori, a very small town within the depths of a forest. The trees were nowhere near as large as Konoha's giants. Genma thought they were rather puny. But the cover was comfortable and welcome, a far cry from the town they'd been in two days prior--Godashu, a town in the middle of a field. Genma always disliked leaving trees behind. His Genin had been similarly discomfited, nervous and jumpy like wary deer. They were all children of the trees, the sheltering forests; and a _ninja_ without shadows to hide in was an unhappy _ninja_ indeed.

Fortunately, the three other villages Chikamasa helped settle disputes in were also in the forest, deeper and closer to Konoha. Also, their contract of two weeks was very close to being up--there were only four days remaining. During all this time there had been no threatening gestures nor hints of threat. Genma was not convinced that the lack of threat meant safety--but he did lean with the monk's opinion that there was likely to be no action at all taken. After all, the man was a Buddhist monk.

Said monk was currently helping run the tiny little village's council meeting. The disputes were mundane--taxes, property lines, inheritance issues, and one complaint of someone's pigs getting into a neighbor's garden. None of the arguments were serious. It wasn't a wonder Iruka was restless. He was probably bored stiff, but he was a good enough _ninja _to at least look like he was paying attention. Genma made a mental note to comment on the boy's restraint later.

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"And you just--" Iruka interrupted himself with a huge yawn. "--just go around and around like this?"

"I do indeed." Chikamasa nodded his bald head as they walked down the forest road. "Of course, I do take rests at various temples. For my religion, you understand."

"Oh," sighed Iruka, falling back to pace beside Hayate.

The day was grey and cloudy, promising rain later. Genma hoped they'd be under shelter by the time the clouds started crying, but he knew how unlikely that was. It was not as chilly as it could have been, considering it was February, but if it rained, they would all be miserable. He calculated the odds of hypothermia and chances of shelter along the way as he walked, absently rolling the poisoned _senbon_ between his teeth. He was still working on upping his tolerance to the neurotoxin, a poison from Amegakure that was supposedly derived from frogs. Genma had no idea if that was true--he actually suspected it was a sort of snake, as many of the toxin-chains were similar--as he merely bought the serum rather than prepare it himself.

The tip of his tongue was faintly numb and his mouth a little tingly, but neither reaction was serious enough to bother him. He glanced back at the three Genin, marching sedately behind Chikamasa. Hayate and Iruka were engaged in one of the little _chakra_-games Genma was now becoming familiar with, while Itachi watched. Growing up during the war, he hadn't had time for training games or the like. He'd learned what he'd needed to survive, and that mostly by doing it in the first place.

The Academy-trained Genin, however, had peace-time to help ease their education. The game they were currently playing, called Firefly, helped refine _chakra_-control in their hands. Walking side-by-side, arms outstretched, Hayate and Iruka's fingers were just touching. Hayate had the tip of his tongue stuck out of his mouth--it was his turn. Genma spared a glance to his path, to make sure he wasn't about to trip, then looked back at his Genin.

Five bright sparks of _chakra_ flared in quick succession as Hayate moved his hand, like a pianist doing scales--thumb first, his fingertips tapped against Iruka's each delivering a bee-buzz of a _chakra_ shock. Iruka hissed and laughed, shoulder jumping as he tried not to pull away. Genma had been enticed into playing a round or two with them--it didn't actually sting, if it was done right. The point was to channel the tiniest thread of _chakra_ one could into the fingertips, and set them all off at measured intervals, faster with each round. The first to mess up the timing lost. Genma certainly approved of the game--it was uniquely practical.

Itachi had a bit of trouble keeping the pauses between sparks regular at faster speeds, but practise made perfect. The game certainly was practise, and good practise. Genma had, in fact, lost twice to both Hayate and Iruka, and once to Itachi, as they had been teaching him to play.

It had been fun, and actually interesting to see all three of them eager to teach their teacher something he didn't know. There had been much crowing and laughing at Genma's fumbling first tries, but not as much as Genma had expected, especially from Iruka. They were growing, he thought, and getting more mature. He smiled to himself as he walked along under the trees, and kept a wary eye on the clouds.

When they broke for lunch, around midday, the clouds still had not shed any rain, but they were thicker and darker. A dim sort of twilight had fallen beneath the trees, and the naked winter branches swayed and tapped in the rising wind. Lunch was eaten mostly in silence, as the slowly worsening weather subdued the travelers' spirits. As they started walking again, the three Genin attempted to start a game of "I Spy" to pass the time. The game faded out, under the monotony of the winter forest and the oppression of the growing rain. Genma could feel the moisture gathering in the air, until his eyelashes brushed damp against his cheeks when he blinked and there was mist ghosting along in the forest.

Not an hour after they had eaten, the rain began. It started as little infrequent sprinkles that tapped soft on winter wraps. Iruka got a drop on the nose and exclaimed in dismay over the cold. There was a brief stop as all the travelers pulled clothes and cloaks close. The hooded winter cloaks Genma and the Genin wore were water-proof, and Chikamasa had a hat and straw cloak for the rain. As they continued their journey, the sky darkened father and the light sprinkles turned into a fine drizzling mist. The beaten dirt path would soon become muddy, Genma discerned, and they had a ways to go before they reached their destination--a half-way inn between the two towns, tucked deep into the forest.

The path rounded a bend, make a half-circle around a steep hill. Tucked into the shelter of the hill were clusters of carved stone Buddha, some_ jiizu _statues and some not, softly covered in lichens and moss. There were a few pinwheels and remains of offerings in among the statues....and a group of four monks, clustered together, taking what shelter they could in the lee of the hill. They appeared to be Buddhist monks, if the orange robes peeping from beneath their straw cloaks were any indication.

Genma slowed, wary, but Chikamasa sped up. "Ah, greetings, brothers," he called. Genma hissed in exasperation and grabbed at the monk's sleeve, but it was too late. Maybe Genma was being too paranoid, but he had the mission in mind--their client had hired them to protect against assassination attempts. Genma himself had once worn the robes of a monk to complete an assassination.

The four turned to the newcomers. They kept their hats tilted down, to keep the rain from getting in their faces...but it also hid their features. Genma's skin prickled. A flick of his wrist put a set of _senbon_ into his right hand. It was merely a precaution, nothing more, the motion mostly hidden by his cloak. Mostly hidden--those who knew what to look for would realize he was now armed.

"Greetings," called one of the monks to Chikamasa. "It is not often we meet a fellow holy man on the road."

"Indeed," Chikamasa agreed. "Have you traveled far?"

"Farther than we'd wished," grumbled a younger man, who was promptly subdued by an older companion.

"We have. We are looking for the inn that was rumored to be around here?" The first monk gestured to the forest road.

"We are heading that way ourselves," Chikamasa declared. "Perhaps you brothers would like to join us?"

"If you would be so kind...." The spokesmonk offered a bow. Chikamasa returned the respectful gesture.

Genma relaxed a little. He still didn't like the fact that the newcomers hadn't shown their faces...but they acted and spoke like monks. He felt no active _chakra_, and when they moved, they did not move like _ninja_. Such things could be faked, of course, but rarely so well. Chikamasa was hardly important enough to merit assassination by _ninja_ anyway. As Chikamasa stepped forward to resume their journey, Genma slipped his _senbon_ back up his sleeve, into the cases hidden there. He stepped up to flank Chikamasa, proud of his Genin as they moved to do the same.

Itachi slipped in the mud, and flailed briefly before he caught himself with a quick flare of _chakra_. Genma half-turned to make sure he was okay. A flicker of motion and a larger flare of _chakra_ spun him back to Chikamasa...just in time to catch the full glare of what seemed like a miniature sun right in the face.

_"Flash-bomb!"_ Genma recoiled, arm flinging up to shield his eyes, but it was too late. He felt motion near him and tried to dodge, but hands closed on his cloak and he was thrown. He couldn't see where he might land, or how to land--he went limp and tried to angle himself for a tuck-and-roll landing.

He could hear startled shouts from his Genin and could only pray they weren't getting killed. A huge flare of _chakra_ did nothing to soothe that fear, and as soon as he slammed into the mud, he was trying to scramble back to his feet, shoulder throbbing where he'd landed on it. Habit has put his _senbon_ into his hands but he couldn't see to throw, not with his allies possibly in the mix. All he could see was white fading to grey, with phantom streaks of blood-vessels crossing his non-vision. He shut his eyes and tried to hone in on _chakra _instead, but he had never been very good at it.

The rainy forest had gone ominously silent, save for the noises of someone whimpering....Genma jumped when he heard Iruka curse violently, sounding a tad breathless but utterly foul. "Iruka?" he called, and Iruka cut off mid-curse.

"Ouch....getting the breath knocked outta ya hurts!" Iruka declared.

"Our client," Genma snapped. "And Itachi, and Hayate?"

"Um, I think Chik--ah, the client is dead." Itachi's treble voice was shaky. "Hayate's bleeding, Genma-_sensei_, and I think it's bad." There was a thin note of fear in Itachi's voice, and that shook Genma. He knew how tough the eight-year-old was.

"How bad?" Genma didn't need sight to put his _senbon_ away. "Did you see which way the assassins went?"

"No, I didn't...I'll take your sleeve and take you to Hayate, 'kay?" Itachi asked, his voice coming nearer.

Genma shut his eyes and stopped trying to see--the dizzying shadows and faded greyness was beginning to make him feel ill, as was the stench of blood and death. "Okay. Hurry." He had deduced by now that it was Hayate whimpering. It worried him. The slender boy had a fine tolerance to pain, usually.... Itachi's tiny hand grabbed his sleeve and pulled. Genma tried to let his steps fall naturally, to follow his unseen leader without hesitation. Trust was so important, now....

"Here," Itachi said, and stopped. He put his hand on Genma's and placed them both on a bony shoulder. Following that cue, Genma knelt down. "Hayate? You'll have to tell me what's wrong."

"Hit my head," was the whimpered answer. "I think on one of the Buddha. 'S bleeding."

Genma grit his teeth and ran his hands through the signs for a diagnostic _jutsu_. He could still cast those. He reached out blindly, and one of Hayate's hands caught his--blood slick on Hayate's half-gloved fingers. Genma muttered a curse and let the _jutsu_ go, pulsing his own _chakra_ through the boy's body, sounding out the injuries. There was a head wound, but it was barely a concussion...it was mostly a gash where the skin his split against the stone, bleeding freely as head-wound were wont to do. With the _chakra_ -image firmly in mind, Genma reached out with one hand and placed it atop Hayate's, holding pressure while his other hand fished for bandages.

"It's fine. Head-wounds bleed a lot, that's all," he soothed. It probably stung like nobody's business as well.

He opened his eyes and found his sight was returning--he could sort of see, in fuzzy, bleached-out shapes. He could get enough to see Hayate looking up at him with one dark eye, the other shut, sheen of blood down the side of his pale face. Genma wiped some of the blood away with the wad of gauze he'd retrieved, then placed it over the wound. Hayate winced and made a little hurt noise, but didn't pull away.

"Right. Can you hold that there? I need to see about Iruka and Itachi."

"_Hai_. They're over there. I think Iruka's stuck in a bush." Hayate spared a hand to point.

As Genma got to his feet, trying to make the blurry world make sense, he heard a damp crash, and Iruka cussing a blue streak yet again...this time with someone's name in there. "Itachi! Son of a dogfish, that hurt! Couldn't you have found some other way, barnacles-for-brains? You just pulled me backwards through a hedge!"

"I was doing the best I could!" Itachi shrilled back. "You wouldn't stop moving, stupid!"

"Flying fish, look at the hole in my cloak! That's your fault, I'll have you know!"

"I should have left you in the flaming bush!"

Genma honed in on them, blurred shapes in grey cloaks. The shouts and the angry _chakra_ told him he probably needed to intervene now. "_Oi_, brats!" He stumbled, and to his dismay, when he looked up, both Iruka and Itachi had moved into stances for attack. With a growl, he pushed _chakra_ and darted between them. "Break it up!"

Itachi's fireball was easy to divert, as often as Genma had worked with Uchiha. Iruka's knife-hand strike would be a bit harder--Genma flipped his arm and struck back, a rising block meant to hit Iruka's wrist.

Fooled by returning sight and shifting shadows, Genma misjudged by a hair.

The _chakra_-edged strike slammed into Genma's arm. He felt the bones go like twigs. Instinct snapped his arm back and threw him into a guarding stance, before he remembered that these were his students. He slid out of his stance, left hand going to his right forearm. From the twisted angle, he knew both bones had to be broken. Gently, already feeling the sharp twinges of pain, he tried to pull it straight, channeling _chakra_...and stopped, gasping at the pain. Iruka's strike had not only broken the bones, it had basically shattered them, and sliced through Genma's _chakra_ pathways as well.

"Oh..." Iruka was hovering, hands limned with blue-green healing energy.

Genma nodded. Iruka laid a hand just above the break, and the other one Genma's palm. Nerve sensation, and the beginning waves of agony, cut off abruptly. With a little sigh of relief, Genma watched Iruka's bowed head, trying to sort out what technique the boy was using. Without the ability to feel the _chakra_ flow in his arm, he couldn't really tell. Without any sensation at all, he was at a loss to tell anything at all. He was reduced to a watcher, a patient.

"I'm sorry, Genma_-sensei_," Itachi whispered, creeping closer, grey eyes wide and horrified.

"It happens," Genma murmured, and wondered if he felt cold because it was cold, or if he was going into shock. "Iruka, can you heal Hayate's head?"

Iruka nodded a little. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I can't...the bone's broken. I can stop the bleeding and keep the swelling down, but I can't..."

"It's fine." Genma kept his voice steady. They were shaken. He was shaken. Their client was dead. He re-arranged what he knew, made himself think instead of react. "Itachi can help me rig up a sling, and you can go heal Hayate's head. Then we should go to the inn and get some help." His vision was almost complete restored, now. He could see Chikamasa's body, headless, laying in the mud. "Our mission is over. After the body is taken care of, we will return to Konoha."

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**A/N:** How depressing, huh? No fear, things will get better! Next chapter: Back in Konoha! Genma on drugs! We see Raidou again!

A lovely and heartfelt thanks to all of you who were patient and understanding while I took my break. I promise I am refreshed and ready to write again! The adventure shall continue! Updates again on Thursdays, and Fridays when I forget. o.o I look forward to a New Year of writing with all of you!

A RECORD TEN REVIEWS LAST CHAPTER! I was floored! THANKS to: **eggomilburnigan**, **BlackDove-alchemist**, **Ally Plz**, **InARealPickle**, **WhyMustIWrite**, **Sonar**, **Shirayuki Tempest**, **stupid thing**, **ImogenSapphire**, and **Lydia**!

**Sonar**, congratulation, yours was the **200th** review! You may now request a drabble! A character and three prompting words is the format I prefer, but if you really want to see something, I'm flexible.

And thanks to you who reviewed that "fake" chapter, too! **Ally Plz**, **Sonar**, **stupid thing**, and **WhyMustIWrite**!

**A note on the game**: I completely and totally made up the game "Firefly" that the boys are playing in this chapter. Feel free to use it inyour own fics, though I'd like to ask for credit if you do. See you next week!


	35. Ch 34: Remorse and Morphine

**A/N: **For all of you out there, here are my words of wisdom: SIX CLASSES IS TOO MANY. We shall see how I handle the class-load this semester. I'll try not to let my writing suffer.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

**It's a bit ****AU****!**

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**Chapter Thirty-Four:** **Remorse and Morphine**

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_February 16_

Iruka felt miserable. He leaned up against Hayate as they stood in training field three. Itachi was tucked up next to Hayate's other side, and they made a kind of staircase as they huddled for warmth. Iruka sniffed, and was glad that nobody was talking.

They were all a little shaken, he thought. He certainly was. After they'd gotten back to Konoha, Genma had been shipped right off to the hospital, and the three Geninb herded off without being told what was going on. They'd been plunked into a room off the guard-shack and told to stay put "like good kids." So they had, and one of the ladies from the missions desks had come to talk to them. She'd said she was getting their mission report, but she'd asked an awful lot of questions. She'd been very concerned about Iruka's _chakra_-strike.

Iruka had known that a mad Itachi spat fireballs, just as well as he knew a mad skunk would spray stink. His handful of _chakra_ had been--as Genma's had been--to protect his skin from being burned when he'd deflected the fireball. It had never been meant to come close to hitting Itachi...or Genma. The young man had moved so fast, and he'd been between them before Iruka could blink, and by then it was far too late to draw his strike. He'd tried, but it hadn't been enough. Between Genma's impaired vision and Iruka's commitment to the blow there hadn't been anything he could do.

He'd healed Genma's arm as best as he'd been able, and he had tried to explain that to the lady without revealing he'd been using a mid-level Kiriga healing _jutsu_ that by all rights he wasn't supposed to know, let alone be able to perform. He'd kept the swelling down and nudged as many broken _chakra_-paths as he'd been able back into alignment. He hadn't been able to do anything about the slivers of shattered bone--healing bones was an advanced skill, usually Jounin-level. Iruka didn't have the _chakra_-reserves or control needed to reach those levels yet.

As the woman had walked out, all three Genin had seen a tall, black-coated man waiting for her. The black coat and grey uniform were unique to a special kind of _ninja_ within Konoha--the Intelligence Operatives.

"We were just interviewed by Intel!" Itachi had squeaked, and he'd looked ready to faint.

Iruka had felt kind of wobbly himself.

He was still feeling a little wobbly and worried sick. They hadn't been able to see Genma since, and nobody had told them anything. Both times Iruka had tried to go see the Hokage, he'd been in an important meeting. Today they'd been supposed to meet Genma at the training grounds for a team meeting, like they always did. For lack of any other plans, they'd come.

"_Otou-san_ said that most of the people who work the missions desks are Intel anyway," Itachi piped, after several cold moments. "He said we shouldn't...shouldn't worry."

"Did he say anything else?" Hayate queried, softly, into the silence that followed.

Iruka heard the rustle of Itachi shaking his head against Hayate's coat. "There's a big case at the station. They're pulling in everyone. They've got a lead on a huge drug ring, and it might help them get the Ryushiroi _yakuza_, too."

Silence reigned, and it started snowing. Iruka tilted his head back and started up at the grey sky and the slowly-falling flakes. He sighed and leaned on Hayate. Hayate said nothing, merely stood steady beneath the weight. They stood beneath the leafless tree and waited, watching the white snow cover tracks and traces.

With the easy tromp and step of an adult came a black-clad figure through the snow. All three boys perked up, but their eagerness faded into confusion. At first, they couldn't figure out who the man was, only that he was not Genma--his black scarf was tucked across his face like a mask against the winter cold, and his hat was pulled low... Iruka recognized him at last by the knitted hat, which was an unforgettable and truly blinding neon mix of orange, yellow, and pink, with a perky pom-pom at the top.

"Raidou_-san_!" he declared, and got a friendly wave in return.

"Yo. You're Genma's brats, aren't you?" he asked, as they came to meet him. "All three? Yeah, there's the bitty Uchiha he was grumbling about..." He trailed off as he was veritably swarmed by the three, Iruka leading and feeling oddly determined.

"Where's Genma_-sensei_?" Iruka demanded. "You're his friend, you know how he is?"

"Please, is he okay?" Hayate piped in.

"Are we in trouble?" Itachi stepped closest and tilted his head back to meet Raidou's gaze. "And I'm not bitty."

"...not bitty. Right." Raidou said at last, blinking down at Itachi, who came roughly to the large man's waist. Iruka refrained from sniggering. It would get him a fireball aimed at his face. The thought sobered him, and he bit his lip.

"Please, Raidou_-san_," Hayate pressed, tone so soft, "Can you tell us how Genma_-sensei_ is?"

"He's fine," Raidou answered, looking away from his staring match with Itachi. "He's still in the hospital, though. He sent me to tell you that team meetings are cancelled until next week. They wouldn't let him out so soon after surgery, and I don't blame them. He cam be flaming stupid when he's drugged up to his eyeballs."

"Surgery?" Itachi demanded. "What for?"

Iruka knew what for, and wilted where he stood beside Hayate. He knew why--shattered bones didn't fix themselves. He bit his lip against the wave of guilt and sting of tears.

Raidou, on the other hand, looked decidedly amused at being ordered around by a pint-sized Uchiha, if the sparkle in his dark eyes was any indication. The rest of his face was effectively masked between his scarf and hat. "To put a plate and some pins in his broken arm, that's why. Now it matches his ankle he broke in the war."

"Are we still gonna be a team?" Itachi glanced back at Iruka, a cool assessing sort of glance. There was a shift of power in that look. It wasn't Itachi asking permission, Iruka realized. It was him taking it--and taking charge, while Iruka hung back in indecision and guilt. Itachi, the youngest and smallest, who was something totally beyond Iruka's understanding, especially within that moment as Itachi turned back to Raidou, chin lifted in a display confidence alien to a child so young.

"Of course you are." Raidou sounded surprised. "Who said you weren't?"

"Well, nobody said anything." Itachi shrugged, and thrust his tiny hands into his coat pockets. "Everyone's been too busy for us."

"Well," said Raidou, "don't worry. You're still a team. You're just on break, sorta, with Genma healing up and all."

"But...I hit him," Iruka said, unable to keep quiet any longer. "And Intel interviewed us about it! What's... Isn't anything gonna happen?"

To his credit, Raidou's expression never changed." I see," he said. "Well, I can clear this all up for you. Come along, bratlings."

"Bratlings?" Itachi asked, with a face.

"Yup," Raidou tossed over his shoulder. "Brats of the brat. Bratlings."

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Into Konoha's hospital they all trooped, the Genin like a trail of ducklings after Raidou.

They went up a flight of stairs, paused to let Hayate cough, and continued their trek. Raidou--unwinding scarf and shedding coat and hat as he walked--led them down two halls, before he stopped and knocked at door.

"Get decent, you've got visitors!" he declared, then marched right on in.

Only one of the beds was occupied. Genma was sitting up in it, wearing the usual pale-blue hospital gown, with a plaster cast encasing his right arm from knuckles to above his elbow. He had the slightly-fuzzy look of someone who was very much on the good pain medication. He blinked at the new arrivals, before waving his good hand at them, managing to do so without dislodging the set of intraveinous needles in his forearm.

"Hey! Y'back! An' y'brought m'kids! See, _taichou_, those'r m'Genin." Genma gave a brilliant, winsome grin to the tall blonde man sitting in the chair beside the bed.

The man, wearing a standard Jounin uniform, blonde ponytail pulled over his shoulder, gave them a solemn look. Iruka decided immediately that he liked this man--his blue eyes were kindly, and he smiled gently enough. "So I see. You're the poor kids they inflicted Genma on? As his former squad captain, allow me to apologize."

"Apology accepted." Iruka grinned and bowed. "Umino Iruka, at your service!"

"Yamanaka Inoichi, at yours and your family's," the blonde man replied. "And you two...?"

"Gekkou Hayate, sir."

"Uchiha Itachi."

Both Itachi and Hayate bowed, and slightly lower then Iruka's had been. As introductions went around, Raidou had been shuffling the room's chairs together, while Genma had started humming some ditty. As he came up with the last chair, Raidou snorted. "Nice, now tell me why Intel has been terrorizing these brats? You ought to know, Inoichi_-taichou_, you're Sub-Head of Mentality or some-such?" He sat on the foot of the bed, and gestured the boys into the two chairs he'd herded up.

Itachi promptly took one for himself. Iruka bounced into the wider one, and pulled Hayate after him. He and Hayate sorted each-other out, ending up with Hayate halfway in Iruka's lap, as Inoichi answered Raidou calmly.

"Mental Operations, and no. I'm not Sub-Head, that's Kame, my cousin. I'm captain of the First Squad of Interrogators." Inoichi raised an eyebrow. "As for Intel, I doubt these boys got anything more serious than an official debriefing."

"And why was that?" Itachi asked, though more politely than he had been of Raidou. "Yamanaka-_san_?"

"Inoichi's fine. When a Jounin or Tokubetsu Jounin gets injured, every member of his team is officially debriefed," Inoichi explained. "Genin or four-man squad, it doesn't matter. Also, your team already has two marks of friendly-fire: mind, we tend not to pay much attention to Genin-records. There was also a note that both incidents were provoked?"

Iruka nodded. "Yeah. They're bullies."

Inoichi waved a hand. "So it's standard procedure. You boys did well. You told the truth, and both yours and Genma's stories matched up." He smiled. "As it was an accident, there won't be any action taken. Also, we found the _ninja_ who took the case against your client. They're unaffiliated, but they have worked with Konoha before. We're suing for damages."

Raidou barked a laugh. "For what? Far as I heard, they didn't do a thing 'cept blind Genma."

"Which managed to get his arm broken," Inoichi replied gravely, and winked at the boys. "Besides, they don't know that they didn't."

Despite the lingering guilt, Iruka couldn't help but chuckle at that bit of trickery. Itachi looked just as amused. Hayate was biting his lip, but the little twist-and-fidget of his feet told Iruka that Hayate was just as entertained. Raidou merely rolled his eyes.

"Wup. Looks like we wore him out," the scarred man declared, and pointed to Genma, sleeping soundly against the pillows. He was drooling. Raidou leaned over and tugged a pillow until Genma's mouth shut and his neck wasn't in such a crick.

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Iruka skipped ahead in the snow, but had to dodge back on stiff legs when Itachi lunged. They skidded a bit on the snow and ice, boots and _chakra _struggling to catch. Hayate flitted by, almost effortlessly, hands in his pockets. Iruka yelped a protest, but he and Itachi were too engaged--little jumps and feints back and forth. Iruka broke away at last and scooted after Hayate, who braced spraddle-legged like a spooked deer before taking off. Itachi made a quick dash, but Hayate was still the fastest and evaded him with ease. Hayate still had his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Iruka had to laugh at that. Hayate made him and Itachi look so awkward. Scarf-tail trailing, Itachi skidded over the thin layer of snow covering the cobbled street. Iruka pulled _chakra_ through his feet and sprinted off after them, grinning behind his scarf.

Through the streets of Konoha they gamboled, heading towards the Uchiha district. They would go far out and drop off Itachi, then Hayate and Iruka would go back to Hayate's house. Itachi didn't much like being escorted, but as long as they made a training-game of it, he wouldn't complain too much. So here they were, slipping and sliding through the afternoon crowds, playing _chakra_-tag. They were playing it three-on-three, though.

Iruka yelped and dodged an old lady, and tried to dodge Hayate's little sidling skid. Hayate's gloved hand snaked out and tapped Iruka on the elbow. The hot-cold feel of Hayate's _chakra_ sparked all up his arm and half-numbed it. Iruka hollered and tried to get Hayate back.

Hayate ducked low and dodged back--right into Itachi's out-stretched hand. Hayate yipped and scooted forward, and Itachi cackled. He broke off and scrambled when Iruka lunged at him. They dodged around a walking couple and tore down the street. Hayate skipped between them and tagged Itachi. Iruka nearly got him but missed, fingertips just swiping Hayate's coat-sleeve. Itachi skidded sideways, lunged, and tagged Iruka on the hip.

The jolt of _chakra_ made his leg buckle and he nearly went down. Itachi laughed but broke off with a yelp when Hayate nearly tagged him again. Iruka lunged and tagged Hayate on the shoulder. Then they both went after Itachi, who wisely turned tail and ran.

By the time they reached the Uchiha district, they were all out of breath and walking sedately. Iruka stopped some yards away from the main mock-gate and waved at Itachi. "See you next week, Itachi!" he said, and made to pat Itachi on the head.

Itachi dodged away and made a rude noise from behind his scarf. Raspberries were only half as effective when you couldn't see them. "Yeah, next week," he called dismissively...but he spared a wave for Hayate, who waved back politely.

"How come he treats you nice?" Iruka asked, mock-jealously, as they turned back up the street. He knew why.

"Because I don't pick on him," Hayate answered, gently, and coughed a little.

Iruka grinned and slung his arm over Hayate's shoulders. He was feeling buoyant and full of energy. Genma was okay, and they were still a team. It was a wonderful feeling. Hayate staggered a bit under the rough handling, and tried to return the favor. By now Iruka was almost an entire foot taller than him, though, so he had to settle for putting his arm around Iruka's waist instead.

"So when are you gonna start growing? I'm only a half-a-year older than you are," Iruka declared.

"I dunno. Maybe I'm just short," Hayate answered. "Hachiko-_basan_'s short, and so was _'Kaa-san_."

"Yeah, but your dad was tall, and you look more like him than you do your aunt," Iruka declared. "I look more like _'Kaa-chan_ and I'm gonna be tall like she was."

"Didn't your mother have red hair?" Hayate glanced up at Iruka as they turned down another street, heading towards the quieter, more civilian parts of Konoha, where Hayate's aunt lived. "I kinda thought you looked more like your father."

"No no no! Of course not! I have _'Kaa-chan_'s blue eyes, and her nose and her chin, and _'Tou-chan_ always told me I have her super-scary smile." Iruka nodded. "Clearly, Haya_-kun_, you were wrong."

Hayate sniggered a little. "_Hai_, apparently so." He glanced up at Iruka, and though his smile was hidden behind his scarf, his umber eyes were bright.

Iruka threw his head back and laughed.

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**A/N:** Well! I notice so many of you were fussing at Iruka--and not Itachi, who was throwing fireballs. Hmmm. Next chapter: What can a Genin team with an injured _sensei_ do? Why, take the easy jobs! Unfortunately, nothing with Iruka, Itachi, and Genma involved can ever be easy, as Hayate knows all-too-well.

SEVEN REVIEWS! A grand and heartfelt thanks goes out to: **WhyMustIWrite**, **HarrHarr**, **InARealPickle**, **stupid thing**, **Sonar**, **Imogen Sapphire**, and **Shirayuki Tempest**!

**Otou-san** Father, very proper

**Taichou** Captain

**A Note on Intelligence Operatives:** Most of this I am making up on the fly--the only canon fact here is that Inoichi is working for Intel, and apparently under Morino Ibiki, who is head of the Torture and Interrogation division. All the organization and ranks mentioned here are completely made up by me. Thank you.


	36. Ch 35: Lucky

**A/N:** I AM AWARE I MISSED LAST WEEK'S UPDATE. I was eaten alive by homework. I sat down Thursday and when I looked up again it was Sunday. But now I am through playing catch-up and am working ahead of all my classes! My writing time now increases.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters!

**It's just a little ****AU****!**

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**Chapter Thirty-Five: Lucky**

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_February 25_

Hayate had very firmly decided he was never having kids. Ever.

Especially since he was the only one who had any idea how to get the bubble-gum out of little Ino's hair.

Genma probably knew, but he was asleep on the couch, folded around his cast and sling, socked toes curling over the edge of the cushions. Though he and his team had been cleared for easy D-ranks, it was obvious to Hayate that Genma wasn't really in any shape for any mission. As soon as he got still he started nodding off, and his concentration was shot....whatever pills he was on, he was taking some strong stuff. Iruka had planted himself by Genma's feet, in a very watchful sort of way, and was making sure their teacher did not get jostled, jarred, or otherwise disturbed.

Of course, in doing so, he'd managed to neglect keeping an eye on Chouji and Ino, and the two toddlers had gotten into a fight, and Chouji had stuck his bubble-gum into Ino's blonde ponytail. There had been much wailing, carrying on, and threats with dull _kunai._

Baby-sitting _ninja_ kids was always an adventure.

Shikamaru and Itachi were playing "Go Fish" and debating heatedly on who was cheating. Hayate thought they both were. Iruka was playing, too, but he wasn't very involved. He was keeping an eye on Chouji, who was in time-out for being so creative in his use of weapons and going for Ino's obvious weakness. So Iruka had said. Fortunately, Chouji looked well on the way to joining Genma in dreams.

Hayate sighed and scooped out another dab of peanut-butter from the jar. He rubbed it into the mess of gum-in-hair.

"Wah, are you sure it'll come out?" Ino whined, hanging her little blonde head over the sink like she'd been told. She was surprisingly obedient, though talkative. Hayate hadn't heard her pause for longer than two minutes at a time. "I mean, it's gum and the last time I got some in my hair _'Kaa-chan_ cut it out! The peanut-butter stinks!"

"It'll work, don't worry," Hayate rasped, and cleared his throat.

He knew how to get gum out, because the last time he'd gotten caught by the bullies at the Academy, they'd put gum in his hair. Hachiko had taken one look at her bedraggled, defeated nephew, and declared that she knew how to get the mess out without too much butchering of his hair. A generous application of peanut-butter and a very thorough washing had reduced the need of scissors to a very light trimming. Hayate was confident that he could get all the gum out of Ino's hair without resorting to scissors. It hadn't been rubbed in with as much malice as his attack had.

"Wah, I'm tired of leaning over! Aren't you done yet?"

"Not yet." Hayate thought the gum was looser. He tugged at it, and the biggest wad slid out at last. Hayate grinned in triumph and chunked it in the trash. "Okay, now we need to go wash it all out. Can you hold it?"

"Like this?" Ino reached up with one hand and held her ponytail like Hayate was, over her shoulder and away from everything else.

Hayate nodded, and licked the remaining peanut-butter off his fingers before he screwed the top back onto the jar. He then reached over and helped Ino off the counter. It was less of him lifting and more of him slowing her descent--he couldn't pick her up without threatening to dump them both over. He'd tried before there had been gum and peanut-butter involved.

Ino led the way to the bathroom, pattering along on her little bare feet, skirt fluttering. She was wearing pants under the skirt, though. Into the impressive bathroom they went. Yamanaka Inoichi apparently lacked for no salary: his house was large and well-made. And currently very warm. Hayate and even Itachi--both of whom were usually the coldest of all in their team--had rolled up their sleeves. Hayate came quietly along behind Ino, habit quieting his footsteps into utter silence.

The child never looked back despite the lack of noise. Either she was just that trusting, or she was used to her _ninja_ parents already. She went across the chill tile floor to the spray-faucet, and now she looked imperiously up at him. "That's me and _'Kaa-chan_'s soap, and that's _'Tou-chan_'s!" declared she, pointing. "So you gotta use this one."

Hayate nodded and knelt on the tile to retrieve the indicated bottle. Curious, he opened it and sniffed. Sure enough, it was a floral-scent, faint but sweet. Maybe gardenias, he thought, thick and almost cloying to his trained senses. He tugged the little bathing-stool over, and Ino leaned over it, hanging her hair clear so Hayate could get to it. There were a few moments of figuring out how this was going to work, but then they had it and the peanut-butter, along with the remaining gum, was washed out.

As Hayate dried her hair for her, the little girl had more orders. "Now you need to brush it. _'Kaa-chan_ always brushes it after we wash it, so it'll be pretty!" She cast a blue-eyed look his way, and she was too young to hide her feelings. Hayate read the curiosity and mischief clearly--she was testing him, seeing how far she could push this new, timid person.

He shouldn't smile, he knew, but he couldn't really help it. There was something funny about the little look, like she thought she was being so clever. He bit his lip and tried not to smile, but she saw the twist of his mouth, and she grinned and giggled. She had a high, sweet little laugh.

"So where's your brush?" he asked, and cleared his throat against the cough.

"In my room," she reported. "So c'mon, Hayate-_san_!"

Hayate hung the towel up so it would dry, and followed the impatiently-dancing Ino. She skipped as she went, foul mood clearly banished, all thoughts of ruined hair gone. Hayate followed at a more sedate pace, across the _tatami_, and down the halls to Ino's room. She opened the door with a flourish, and gestured him in.

"This is my room!" she announced, and spread her arms to encompass the space. "And there's my brush and hair-stuff!" She whirled and bounced across the small room, and reached up to a shelf to pull down a little basket that rattled and rustled. It was full of clips and pins, bands and ribbons, with a set of brushes tucked in there amidst the magpie collection of items. She ran back to him with the basket clutched to her chest, chubby little hands wrapped around it securely.

"You're too tall!" She pouted up at him. "You need to sit!"

"Alright," he agreed. "But where are we sitting?"

She thrust the rattling basket at him. Rather than protest, he took it, and watched as she darted to the shelves again, hitting on her knees and pulling out a set of _zabuton_. She laid these on the _tatami_ to her satisfaction, then seated herself on one and gave Hayate an expectant look. He came and sat down behind her, and set the basket to her side, where they could both get to it. After she pulled out her ponytail holder, he set ro brushing her hair. It was fine and silky in his fingers, unlike his aunt's hair. His aunt's hair was heavier and thicker. Ino's hair, when he brushed it out and automatically set to braiding it, made a much narrower braid.

Ino's curious little hands came up and followed the braid. "Ooooh, I didn't know you could braid!" She giggled. "Most boys don't! They do messy ones! _'Kaa-chan_'s teachin' me but I'm not very good yet, it takes lotsa practise!"

"My aunt's hair is really long," Hayate told her, smiling at the excited chatter. "I help her braid her hair sometimes. Um, I need a holder...."

Ino whipped out a sparkly purple one from the basket, and waved it over her shoulder. It was easy enough to take it from her little fingers and snap the hair-elastic around the end of the braid with a few quick twists. Into flipped the braid over her shoulder and loudly admired his handiwork. Hayate grinned at her.

"Hey, d'you want to play dolls?" she asked. "It's so boring when Shikamaru and Chouji come over 'cause they never want to play dolls! And you braid real nice."

How braiding skills equaled playing with dolls Hayate wasn't sure. "_Eeto_...." he stalled, and tried to think of a polite protest. Apparently Ino took the not-protest as a yes, or else she was just too eager, because she leaped up and ran to her shelf again, pulling down a pair of dolls. She ran back and thrust one of them at Hayate.

"This's Hanako and this is Orihime. She's a princess and Hanako is her lady-in-waiting, only they're ninja in disguise." Ino nodded and held the blonde doll close. "You can play with Hanako."

Startled, Hayate took the doll. Hanako....had been his mother's name. Dumbly, he stared down at the painted face, the porcelain and weight of cloth and buckwheat. It was a a traditional _geisha_ face, white and red and black, and nothing more. The doll's hair was black, too, and long. Hayate shook his head and felt dumb....Hanako was a very common name, after all. There hadn't been any reason to feel that funny jolt down his back, nor the hollow ache in the pit of his stomach. He reached up and stroked the tiny silk robes, wincing at the rasp and drag of his calloused fingers against the smooth fabric.

"Hayate_-san_?" Ino's voice, small and almost hesitant.

Hayate blinked and looked up at her. "_Aa_, _nani_?"

Ino was frowning, biting her tiny lip. "....why are you sad?"

"Me? I..." Hayate blinked at her, then felt his face fold into one of his little perfect smiles. "I'm not sad. But I don't think I can play with you...my hands are too rough, see?"

Ino stared at him, and scowled, She took the doll back, and marched over to put them on the shelf again. She whipped around and came back. Hayate flinched as she raised a hand, instinct demanding he block what might be an attack. The stopped at the same moment, eyeing one another. Ino reached out the last few inches and set her hand atop his head.

"You have a nice mind but you'll mess it up if you lie too much." The way she said it made Hayate think she was reciting something oft-repeated. "That's what _'Tou-chan_ says all the time. And you really do have a nice mind, much nicer than your team-mates." She nodded, bobbing her little blonde head up and down.

"My mind?" Hayate frowned a little, feeling her tiny hand warm atop his _hitai-ate_.

"_Un_!" Ino nodded, and took her hand away. "So if you don't wanna play dolls, what can we play?"

"Um, I don't know." Hayate racked his mind for games that didn't involve _chakra_-building or the fast-and-dangerous "games" Genin played...like _kunai_-tag with sharp _kunai_ and small exploding tags. He wasn't used to thinking in simple and easy terms.

"Hey, hey! I bet if you make your Iruka_-san_ bother Shikamaru, we can get them all to play tag in the garden! Or build snow-castles!" Ino grinned and danced from foot to foot. Hayate saw the little basket of hair-items getting close to an upset and rescued it.

"Okay, we can try that." Hayate smiled and offered the basket to Ino. "But put this up first."

She cheered and hurried to do so. Hayate unfolded himself from kneeling and picked up the _zabuton_. Ino rushed back and took these, and darted back to shelve them again. She took off at a mad dash for the main room, calling over her shoulder for him to "_Hayaku, hayaku_!" Smiling, Hayate followed....but something made him pause and look back at the dolls on the shelf. After a moment, he told himself he was being silly, and moved on to join the commotion in the main room.

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The snowy garden was lit wonderfully by the lamp in the great stone lanterns. Itachi had lit them, impressing the children with his _katon jutsu_. Hayate was fairly impressed, too. Itachi had been getting better these days, to the point where he hardly needed hand-seals anymore for the smallest fireballs.

They'd left Genma inside, still dozing on the couch. He'd roused briefly, but he didn't want to take his cast out into the snow. He'd sleepily supervised them bundling up the kids, and volunteered to make hot tea before they came back in. Whether or not he would, Hayate didn't know.

The three kids and the three Genin tumbled about in the garden, all involved in a cross between a mad chase and a game of tag. The snow in the garden had been painstakingly removed--probably by working Genin teams, though maybe Inoichi had done it himself--and the few inches left were perfect for rough-and-tumble play. Chase turned into snowball-throwing somewhere along the way, and soon it was a wicked match.

Taking cover behind an ornamental evergreen bush, Hayate and Itachi and Ino did their best to oust Iruka and Shikamaru and Chouji from the little snow-fort. Hayate was breathless from laughing and the cold and coughing, but it wasn't too bad. Itachi kept sending him worried looks. Ino had dismissed it in the way children had. Hayate muffled a cough behind his scarf, and lobbed his current projectile hard and fast in Iruka's direction.

With a cheer, Iruka's hands whipped through signs, and his _chakra_ flared. He flung a hand out and the snowball diverted course with a jerk: clearly he was manipulating the water in the snow.

"That's cheating!" Itachi bellowed across the garden.

"I'm a ninja! I lie, cheat, and steal!" Iruka crowed, and launched his hard-packed snowball at Itachi's face.

Itachi's hands formed a single sign. With a quick breath he spat a golden-orange fireball and melted the snowball midair. Ino clapped her hands and cheered, jumping in place. Hayate laughed at the bewildered look on Iruka's face. Itachi looked decidedly smug.

Hayate grinned and scooped up another handful of snow. Things were about to get very exciting.

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**A/N:** Yes, peanut-butter and gum does work. Yay! Poor Hayate, he got himself bullied around by Ino. At least she was cute. Next chapter: our team is still ground-bound, but that doesn't mean exciting things don't happen. Paperwork, questions, and a little bit of history. Itachi learns more about Iruka, and gets scolded by Hayate!

Six reviews last chapter! A heartfelt thanks to all who reviewed: **WhyMustIWrite**, **eggomilburnigan**, **InARealPickle**, **Ally Plz**, **Sonar**, and **Shirayuki Tempest**!

**Tatami** Woven mats with thin padding. Typical traditional upper-class flooring.

**Zabuton** The little flat cushions used to sit on **tatami**

**Eeto** Umm... A place-holding noise, mostly.

**Geisha** Trained entertainer, not a prostitute, with distinct make-up patterns

**Aa** Slangy male yes

**Nani** What, short and informal version of **Nani desu ka**

**Un** Slangy female yes

**Hayaku** Hurry up! or Go faster!

**Katon jutsu** Fire jutsu


	37. Ch 36: Burdened

**A/N:** Late again, but I swear it's the last time. I have been getting extensive review and writing lessons from the great Nezuko of Fallen Leaves, and it is time-consuming. But I hope you can see improvement in my writing--I have been working very hard!

I do not own any of the Naruto characters!

**It's just a bit ****AU****!**

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** Thirty-Six: Burdened**

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_March 10_

"Itachi!"

Genma's call jolted him out of his doze. Itachi scrambled off the bench and trotted over to the desk, already holding out his hands. Genma didn't bother to look at him, merely thrust the folder into his hands. "This goes upstairs, room two-oh-six. Give it to Kotone, she'll be behind the first desk."

Itachi nodded and turned away. Earlier in the day, Genma had made him repeat back where he was going and whatnot, but by now they had a routine going. Itachi left the filing room, crossed the wide hall, and pushed against the door to the stairs with his shoulder. Up the flight of stairs he went, taking them two at a time. He met three other _ninja_, two going down and one passed him on the stairs up in a quick sprint. The two coming down grinned and waved at the Genin. Itachi was getting tired of the patronizing looks. Obviously he was running errands, but it was a mission, not punishment, as everyone seemed to think.

Genma's arm was still casted and in a sling. He was doing much better, almost four weeks after he'd gotten it broken. He was off the heavy-duty drugs he'd first been on, and was back to his usual self...even if he still had a tendency to doze off if he was still too long. But with their Jounin-_sensei_ still out of commission, Team 13 couldn't take their normal run-of-the-mill missions. Instead, they were getting the odds-and-ends usually assigned to _ninja_ who didn't do field-work. This was the third time they'd wound up coming to the Files and Records Department to help with the paperwork, much to the dismay of all who saw Itachi was an Uchiha. As Uchiha were prone to sneezing sparks, they weren't often welcome in any job involving paperwork.

Before he'd been here, Itachi hadn't seen much point in the mission-statements they turned in after every mission. Now, he was impressed. Each mission-statment had at least three copies, he'd learned, sent to Missions Records, Reference-Subdivision C, and Accounts-Section B. And that was a regular D or C-ranked mission. Higher ranked missions had more copies than that, especially if there were injuries, deaths, or political consequences.

Itachi popped out of the stairwell and jogged down the maze of hallways. The place was almost eerily quiet, and the tile floor only offered the barest tap to each footfall. Itachi found the right room--206, first of five filing rooms for Missions Records--and struggled the heavy door open. Both workers looked up at him. Itachi went to the second desk and held the file out to woman behind it.

"Another D-rank, Kotone_-san_," Itachi told her.

"Ah, thank you, Itachi_-san_." Kotone smiled and took the file. "Could you trot these folders over to room two-oh-eight, please? Give them to Jin, and he'll know what to do with them."

"_Hai_." With four more folders in hand, Itachi went back out and down two doors. This time he flicked the latch and used his shoulder to wrestle against the door. It wasn't so much that he he was small, just that the doors were heavy, designed to be bolted securely and protect against threats to paper--theft or fire or the like.

Jin was not behind his desk. Itachi frowned and leaned a hip against the wood, taking a moment to breathe. He'd been jogging files around, upstairs and down, for the better part of five hours now. He was getting hungry again. It was almost time for supper, so surely the shifts were about to change, and they'd get let off. Itachi sighed and shifted the files in his arms. He was certain he wouldn't be half so tired or hungry if he hadn't been doing more than his share of the work.

_"What Iruka thinks he's up to, skipping like that...."_ Itachi thought darkly. He was quite miffed at having to pull both his weight and his absent team-mates'. _"And Genma-_sensei_ hasn't said a thing. I wonder why?"_

As he started again on the meandering round of questions he'd been pondering all day, Jin came back from the rows of file-cabinets. "Oh, sorry. These are from Kotone in two-oh-six?"

Itachi nodded. "Yes, here."

Jin took the files. Mercifully, he didn't have any other errands for Itachi to run. Back downstairs Itachi went, sliding down the hand-rails to save himself some effort. A _shinobi_ coming up the stairs chuckled at him. Itachi didn't care anymore, so long as they didn't pat him on the head. He was sick and tired of people patting him on the head.

_"They don't pat me on the head at the police-station,"_ he thought. Of course, at the police-station, everyone knew he was Fugaku's kid, and everyone treated him with respect. Especially now that he could throw fireballs like everyone else. There was something to be said about a hereditary ability to breathe literal sparks when you were angry.

Itachi pattered back into the sorting room. Genma was still at his desk, but he wasn't sorting. He was chatting with the dark-haired man named Hijiri Shimon. Itachi knew him well enough, though he actually wasn't supposed to. He was one of the "forbidden" ones, the ones the Uchiha didn't talk about. But as Itachi walked up to the desk, he waggled his fingers a little at Shimon.

Genma glanced at them. "Don't ask, brat, we're almost through."

"Good." Itachi sighed.

"I'm still surprised they let you work in here," Shimon offered, smiling. "I guess they don't know you throw fireballs yet."

Itachi looked up at the man, sitting in Genma's desk, one foot in Genma's chair. "Or something. Like how you got in here?"

Shimon laughed. "Oh, no, I'm water-type. No fireballs."

Well, made sense, given what Itachi knew from rumor and whisper. He turned to Genma. Genma was looking between them, probably noting the ink-black hair, distinctive widow's peak, the sharp features that almost matched.

"Ah. We're not." Shimon winked. "But if I'd been born on the right side of the blankets, I think I'd have been an uncle."

"Half-uncle," Itachi corrected, tracing out genealogy lines in his head.

"Right," Genma declared. "I'm properly confused again."

Itachi snorted, and half turned as he heard a soft footfall. Hayate had just entered, empty-handed, looking a little out of breath. He barked a short cough as he came up to them, and Itachi winced at the noise. It always sounded worse indoors.

"There's the last of my team." Genma smirked up at Shimon, and his lips moved as if he had a _senbon_ between his teeth...though he didn't. Not while he was on pain medication. It was funny, though, Itachi thought, what a habit it was. And how telling it was, really. He'd learned how to pick up on Genma's moods given exactly how the man held that _senbon_.

"You're good to go." Shimon slid down from the desk, laughing at some private joke.

Genma rolled his eyes and stood. "C'mon, brats, I'm starving. Let's go. I'm in mind for Jiroshin's."

Itachi grinned in delight. Food at last!

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The meal had been very filling....and oddly quiet. As Genma chewed on a chopstick, Itachi tried to pick up the last grains of rice off his plate. Single grains of rice where very hard to retrieve with chopsticks. Hayate was sitting quietly in front of a half-full plate, dark eyes wide an unfocused. Itachi knew him well enough now to recognize his team-mate was utterly lost in his own thoughts. He did that, from time to time, especially when Iruka wasn't around to pester him constantly.

The thought of Iruka made Itachi scowl again. Because Iruka wasn't here and he really should have been. They were a team, after all! And Genma hadn't said anything, and Hayate hadn't said anything...so he probably wasn't hurt, but surely if he'd been skipping for no reason Genma would have said something.... Itachi hated not knowing, and clearly there was something going on here that he didn't know about.

Well, he was going to fix that.

"Where's Iruka?" he demanded, turning to Genma. "Why wasn't he here today?"

Genma gave him an unreadable look, amber-eyes heavy-lidded. The chopstick in his mouth rolled to the other corner, before he spoke. "Well, it's not my story to share. But I really should have made him come along. He's gotta learn to function sometime."

"He does," Hayate added in, softly. Itachi wondered what trick the older boy had learned to make such a quiet tone carry so well under the restaurant's bustle and chatter. "It's just...today was really bad. The weather's changing, he says, and his scar was hurting him."

Itachi looked over, and saw the firm line into Hayate's lips, the sorrow in those dark umber eyes. Soft and hard, the strange contradiction that Itachi was beginning to expect from his team-mate. Like Genma's lazy-quick, Iruka's reckless-care. "Why Tuesdays?" Itachi asked, directing it towards Hayate. Genma wouldn't say anything. Itachi knew it by now, but Hayate was an easier target.

Some days. Hayate's eyes took on a sharpness as he gave Itachi a measuring look. Itachi felt less assured he was going to get an answer, and at the same time wanted it more. Because clearly this was something big, and he didn't know anything at all about it. That was annoying...and a little hurtful. He ignored the twinge and forged on.

"_Onegaishimasu_."

The formality made Hayate soften again, consider him and nod, less agreement and more a formal acknowledgment. "Do you remember much about...about the Fox attack?" he asked, in a hushed voice. Itachi had to lean forward to hear him.

Itachi hesitated. "I...not really. I was really little."

"Well, Iruka and I....we remember a little more. We both....both our parents died." There was something dark that Itachi couldn't read, couldn't name, in Hayate's face and voice. It made him wary, almost frightened, because it was strong and he didn't know... "Iruka's at the October Memorial. That's why he didn't come today."

It hadn't been the answer he'd expected....but he didn't know what he'd expected. He sat still, quiet, feeling Hayate's gaze so weirdly heavy, sorting words and facts and trying to make sense of it all. Patterns he'd noticed without understanding took on new importance. After a moment, he looked up to meet Hayate's eyes again. "Tuesdays?"

"_Hai_." Hayate was back to being soft again, all that strangeness wiped away, that little polite smile on his face.

Itachi turned to look at Genma, to see what the man thought of it all. As usual, however, Genma's face was almost unreadable, with a faint quirk to his lips, eyes guarded. "So how bad does his scar hurt him, Hayate?" he drawled, removeing the chopstick from his mouth.

"It depends." Hayate fidgeted a little. "It's cold right now, and that makes it hurt worse. He stayed in bed after I got up for a long time.... So I think it was pretty bad today." He paused, glanced at his plate, and looked up at Genma. "Do you think I could take some of this back to him? He loves stir-fry."

Genma chuckled wryly. "I should tell you that if he wasn't here, he doesn't get any. But I guess you can."

Well, it wasn't exactly fair, but life wasn't fair. Itachi scowled and pushed the last grain of rice around his plate. Dinner was their reward, as it were, for work. Iruka, who hadn't worked, shouldn't get any...but maybe, Itachi thought, if he'd stood vigil over the memorial....was serving the village a greater duty than honoring the dead? Which was better, had more value? Or could it be measured like that? He set his chopsticks down and bit his lip. This was all confusing. It was certainly easier to run errands and missions than it was to think.

Genma paid the bill, and the three walked out into the deepening twilight. Scudding clouds covered the sky, and the wind had picked up. It felt like they were in for quite a storm, as lightning jumped from cloud-to-cloud in bright, eerie shapes. The energy charging the air made Itachi shiver--the wind tasted like snow and ozone.

"Lightning with the snow," Genma declared, staring up at the sky. "Gonna be a bad blow. C'mon, brats, let's hurry. I don't want to get stuck out in this."

Itachi grabbed the corner of Genma's coat and hung on tightly as the man hurried through the darkening streets. He thought of Iruka, standing alone in front of a stone, with the wind whipping dark and cold around him, and the image cut through Itachi in ways that twisted and hurt. He didn't understand it, not at all, but it hurt and he wondered....

It wasn't until he was home, curled up in his warm futon with Sasuke snoring gently on one side and little blonde Naruto on the other, that he realized what it was.

Alone.

To be alone.... Itachi tightened his arms around his baby brother and his sometimes-younger-brother.

To be all alone...

....that would be the worst thing in the world, he thought, and listened to the storm outside rage.

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**A/N:** This chapter was very short, but Itachi said it was done. So it was. And all the organization in here is totally made up. I actually know nothing about running a business, let alone organizing paperwork for a ninja hidden village. Please pardon any inaccuracies. Next chapter: Excitement! Action! Genma in a sling! Raidou has a Very Important Announcement!

Seven reviews last time! Thanks for being so patient with me, ya'll! AN AWESOME THANKS TO ALL WHO REVIEWED LAST CHAPTER: **InARealPickle**, **Ally Plz**, **stupid thing**, **Rebelgirl666**, **Shirayuki Tempest**, **silvermonkey**, and **WhyMustIWrite**!

**Onegaishimasu** Please, formally. Often shortened to **onegai** and used in request for a person or an object, but mostly for people


	38. Ch 37: Brotherhood

**A/N: **Ugh ugh ugh. I am felled by illness. The Headcold of Doom has at last caught up with me, after visiting all the rest of my family. But! Good news! I'm on time this week!

I do not own any of the Naruto characters. Or Ranma, though I borrowed him from Ranma 1/2. But the random OCs I think I sorta have a claim to? If only for naming them.

**It's a little bit ****AU****!**

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**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Brotherhood**

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_March 20_

"You are not going with your arm in a sling, Genma."

Genma looked up, meeting Raidou's gaze in the mirror. "I have to go. I promised Ranma. You know I can't back out on it." He resumed scrubbing his hand through his damp hair, tangling it fiercely, ignoring the way the dirt felt against his scalp. When he was satisfied with the filthy result, he turned and leaned a hip on his bathroom sink, looking his friend full in the face.

Raidou was leaning on the doorframe and looking unhappy, arms crossed over his chest. "At least let me go with you."

"Can't, and you know it. They all know you're _ninja_. Me, I'm just Skeeter." Genma grinned a little, and then wiped his slightly-muddy hand on either cheek, leaving smudges of dirt. He was already dressed for his part, in clothes that reeked, battered and abused layers of fabric, medically-issued sling replaced with a ragged, stained swath of sheet. Raidou and his worry were not dissuading him in the least. They had this argument almost every time Genma took to the streets.

Raidou sighed and reached up to run a hand through his short brown hair--which was already standing on end from earlier assaults. "And you can't...."

"I promised." Genma shook his head.

Raidou snarled a sigh. "If I ever meet Ranma again I oughta wring his sorry neck. You be careful, understood?"

"Worry-wort. They're only _yakuza_. Besides, it's all Ranma's territory. I'll be safe." Genma tossed his friend a smile, perfectly assured. He'd known Ranma for longer than he'd known Raidou--Ranma had been the first one to watch out for him, keep an eye on the half-orphaned little tramp Genma had been. He probably owed the man life and limb, if not even sanity. Life on the streets wasn't kind.

"Only _yakuza_, he says. And they'll only eat you alive once they know you're _ninja_." Raidou sighed, re-crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Well, before you leave and throw yourself to the dogs, got some news."

"Eh? What?" Genma pushed off the sink and strode out of the bathroom, squeezing narrowly past Raidou to do so. "You get recommended for full Jounin? Decided to retire to desk-monkey? Get yourself a girlfriend?"

Raidou snorted and gently thumped Genma on the head. Well, gently for Raidou. Genma staggered a step. "None of the above, brat."

"_Oi_, I've only got one working arm," Genma warned, but half-heartedly. "So tell me already, if my guesses are so wrong."

"The Hokage wants me to take on a Genin team." Raidou leaned on the corner of Genma's battered couch. "So I guess I'll be joining you in the demented ranks of teacher-hood. If your _yakuza_ don't tear you apart today, that is."

Genma laughed. "At least you won't have Iruka. That brat's a headache and a half." But as he went out the door, he glanced back at his friend. "You'll make a good teacher," he called back, half in earnest, half teasing. "Look how I turned out!"

He ducked out the door, still laughing, as the brace of _kunai_ slammed into the door inches from his skull.

* * *

Sometimes it was frightening how easily he fell back into the mindset of the streets, Genma thought. How everyone suddenly became a threat, a target, to be watched. How he could turn his confident, sneaky _ninja_ stride into the cautious scuttle of a vagrant. How even his speech slid into the old patterns, all the slang and roughness, without even thinking about it. But then...this was what he was. This was where he'd been born, and he knew you could never leave behind what you'd been born into, no matter how high you climbed.

A tiny hand slipped into his pocket. Genma whipped around, catching a tiny wrist, and hauled the skinny brat around. "Whatchya think yer doin', ya sorry cuss?"

Defiant dark eyes glared back, but the child--maybe a boy?--struggled in silence. Genma gave his captive a shake.

"Does it flamin' look like I gots any smokin' money to ya? Huh? Iffen I did y'kow I wouldn't flamin' be here! Now git!" With a push of _chakra_ and a mis-aimed kick, Genma shoved the kid aside. As he took off down the street, the kid hollered an insult and a plague upon Genma's ancestors. Genma paid the words no mind.

He turned down the narrow, dirty streets, and wound his way to the riverside edges. The river flowed sluggishly, ice still clinging to its edges, melting snow trickling down the banks. In another few days the snow would be gone completely and the river a roaring muddy-brown. But for now it was still winter-quiet, waiting for spring. Genma chuckled and picked his way among the melting puddles and potholes of the packed-dirt road. He turned from the not-street and up a blind alley. At the end was a tiny, tiny shrine, tended by a toothless old priest who'd been there long as Genma could remember. Far as he knew, the old man was immortal like his gods and would be there forever.

The priest was sweeping the dirt with a scrabbledy broom, and nodded his bald, wrinkled head as Genma stepped into the shrine. Genma rang the bell and clapped his hands, bowing his head and asking for good fortune and quick healing. He tossed a few extra coins into the offering--he could afford to be generous, though it hadn't always been the case.

When he stepped out of the shrine, Ranma was waiting. Bare-armed in the cold, the little man looked unperturbed. "Yo, Skeeter."

"Ranma." Genma grinned and hastened his step, eager shuffle-trot. Something about Ranma's presence always made him feel about six again. Maybe it was the air of invincibility, unchanged in all the time Genma had known him. "Y'said y'got some brats fer me ta round up?"

"Yup. 'Bout three or four, all gots talent n'_chakra_. One'a them you'll really want." Ranma grinned, reached up, and ruffled Genma's snarled hair. It was a stretch. "Ya get yer arm busted up?"

"Bad mission." Genma shrugged, and fell into step behind Ranma.

They traversed the dirty streets, Genma utterly safe from even pickpockets now. The riverside district was Ranma's kingdom, ruled with a rough hand...but not an unkind one, as evidenced by the little gang of about eight kids they picked up. The children--dirty and ragged and not a one older than ten--milled along behind Ranma, with bright whispers and curious questions for the newcomer. Genma offered kind grins, and fingered the candy in his pocket. These little ones were why Ranma was so successful--he'd practically hand-raised his own _yakuza_, beginning almost fifteen years ago, when he'd first picked Genma off the streets. From pickpocket to _yakuza_ boss Ranma had risen in a surprisingly short amount of time. Genma would guess the man was close to thirty, but he didn't look it.

They reached a ramshackle warehouse, and Ranma made shooing motions to the flock of kids. But as they scattered, Genma drew out a handful of candy and tossed the sweets after them. Most never hit the ground, snatched out of the air as soon as the treats were recognized. As the last child scuttled away, Genma turned to find Ranma grinning at him. Genma shrugged, caught the friendly cuff on his good shoulder, and followed Ranma into the dim warehouse.

It was stacked with crates and furniture and odds and ends, but cleared in the middle was a large space. Five kids were waiting, and all jumped to their feet upon seeing Ranma....but their welcome turned to wariness as soon as Genma emerged from the shadows.

"Listen up! Skeeter here's gonna see iffen you gots the talents he wants. An' he ain't gonna sell ya to the whorehouse, dun worry." Ranma grinned, sharp and tight. "That's Scraps, Kicks, Jun, Rin, and Akako." The kids ranged from four to eight, Genma estimated, all small for their ages and with that wary wildness that came from growing up without authority. Akako especially, the oldest, had an untamed fierceness about him as he glared at Genma.

"So, Scraps and Rin, you's sisters?" Genma asked, scanning faces. They looked it, with the same pert features.... "What kin you two do?"

Rin, older and maybe all of six, shifted her feet, and answered softly. "Light-fingers. We do's bump-n-grab. An' we don't ge' caught."

Pick-pockets, and good ones. Genma nodded. "I gots some candy inna pocket. Iffen y'kin get it y'kin have it."

All of them perked up at that--candy was not a treat often seen on the streets. The two sisters stepped forward, and Genma started an easy saunter 'round the cleared space, as if he was just walking down the street. He had candy in his pocket, but he also had caltrops in there, tipped with a mild poison that would sting if the skin was scratched. Nothing serious, nothing lasting....but it would tell him how good they really were. As he walked, the two started chasing one another, giggling and shrieking. The smaller, Scraps, ran right at Genma, looking over her shoulder, and bumbled into his knees. Following the game, he went down and asked if she was alright. As he did, he felt the older one, crouched beside them, flick a hand into his coat-pocket. When he stood, she displayed three candies in her palm, grinning a snaggle-toothed grin.

Genma clapped his hands. "Good, good. You the only light-fingers?"

Rin, encouraged, shook her head. "Akako do it too. He good."

Genma gave her another piece of candy, for two each. Squealing with delight, the girls scuttled back to the group, crinkling the wrappers with glee. "Akako, you's next." With that, he started to walk again. Akako, fierce-eyed and easy stalk, acted as though he was going to meet Genma and walk past. He bumped Genma's shoulder, roughly, and turned around angrily.

"Hey, watch where ya goin'," he declared.

"Who me? You watch yo'self," Genma snapped back, but without heat...he hadn't even felt the hand, but Akako held up a piece of candy. "Nice, boy. What else you do?"

"Li'l bit o' casin'. Win lotsa fights." Akako grinned, sharp and bright.

"Who else cases?" Akako was getting a bit big to slip in through unlocked windows and steal things from people's houses, Genma thought. Usually the smallest kids were best, to fit through the narrow casement windows without getting stuck.

"Kicks an' Jun, but Jun's been caught afore," Akako reported, with clear disdain. "Jun's best a'callin'. He do sick real good."

"And bindin'," Jun declared. "Kin be a good cripple."

And play well on sympathy, Genma bet. Begging enough to stay fed required the ability to read people well, to know how and when to push. He nodded. "Right. All ya gots talents I like. Ranma, I'll take these minners offa your hands, get 'em fed up and put in good places."

Ranma nodded. "Akako gots a trick he's hidin'," he declared, grinning. "Show 'im, Akako."

Akako scowled, and shut his eyes. Genma's eyebrows rose as he felt a tiny flare in _chakra_, one that felt alarmingly familiar. All the children had _chakra_ networks comparable to a civilian's, at this age, but to use it... Genma watched the boy, and tried to figure out where he'd felt that little rise-and-twist....

Akako opened his eyes, iris blood-red, a single black tomoe within the crimson.

"Sharingan," Genma breathed. "Flames!"

Akako blinked and the red faded back into dark--Genma would bet, in good light, the boy's eyes were a dark grey. Genma shook his head and swore again. Ranma chuckled. "Thought you'd want that'a'one best, Skeeter," he called, almost taunting, eyes bright.

Genma shook his head again.

* * *

The five children were not dropped off at orphanages. Genma held no truck with those organizations. Instead, he delivered each to a house he knew he could trust, retired _ninja_ who would know how to deal with children off the streets. The kids were a little alarmed and upset; gangs and _yakuza_ held a very dim view of _shinobi_ in general. But once assured that Genma was completely in Ranma's confidence and that no harm would come to them, they came along without being forced. The temptation of regular food was also a good motivator.

Pick-pockets and thieves and professional liars--Genma knew exactly how well these skills would serve the children, serve Konoha as they became _ninja_. They already knew deception and trickery, were already convinced the world was not fair and they had to work to make it in life. They would be fine _ninja_, he knew. After all, he had turned out just fine.

But Akako...Genma had a special place for that one. He hoped he did, at least. An activated Sharingan at the age of ten....the boy was very small for his age. Genma took the back routes and made his way uptown, walking with a hand set on the boy's shoulder. He was ready for it when Akako balked, recognizing where they were going.

"Leggo a'me! That's the pig-sty!"

"Yes, it's the police-station." Genma didn't let go, but snapped voice and manner back to his usual manner. The change shocked the boy into going still again. "And we're not here so I can get you in trouble. Ranma trusts me, and you should too. Now come on and shut up."

Akako fell silent, and reluctantly let Genma guide him up to the back alley of the police-station. Genma nodded to the three men out having their smoke-break, two in flak vests and one without. "Can one of you please tell Fugaku-_san_ that Shiranui Genma would like to see him? Oh, hey, Goro."

Goro chuckled and gave a careless wave. "Sure, Genma. Kita-_kun_, run in and tell Fugaku Genma's here to see him."

Kita, clearly the youngest, gave a long-suffering sigh, ground out his cigarette against the brick, and trotted inside. Genma settled back and stood hip-shot, waiting. Akako fidgeted beneath his hand, clearly nervous, but stayed quiet as told. Genma liked the kid. He hoped Fugaku would work with him, find a good place to put this street-brat.

Not ten minutes passed before Fugaku stepped out, in uniform and looking particularly unimpressed. "Oh, it is you. Dare I ask what you're doing here? We don't have Umino here, if that's what you're wondering."

Genma scowled. He'd hoped Iruka knew better by now. "Can I please speak with you alone?" he asked.

Fugaku didn't ask why. He merely turned and gave his subordinates a look. They both obediently flicked their cigarettes aside and turned to go in. Goro waved at Genma before he went, with a jovial grin. The door shut firmly behind them. Fugaku turned back to Genma, and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"This," Genma said without preamble. "Is Akako. He's ten, street-orphan, and he has the Sharingan." He watched as Fugaku's second eyebrow joined the first, before he gave Akako a careful once-over.

"I would say it's impossible, but you seem pretty confident," Fugaku said at last. "Either you're deluded or telling the truth."

Genma snorted. "Akako, can you show him your trick? It won't get you in trouble."

Akako looked fierce again. "Sure. I can do it lots now." He shut his eyes and screwed up his face in a look of concentration. A quick flare of _chakra_ and he opened his eyes again, Sharingan-red. "Skee--Genma tellin' the truth," the boy declared. Genma hid his grin, surprised but pleased by the transferal of loyalty: from Ranma to Genma. Akako's eyes faded back to their dark grey, and he scowled up at Fugaku.

With another Uchiha for comparison, certain traits in Akako's face were more easily seen--the widow's peak, though Akako's hair was chestnut, the grey eyes, the high-cheek-bones. Fugaku nodded, and stepped down off the raised porch onto the street. "Let me see your hand, please," he told Akako, who reluctantly offered it up. Fugaku turned the little hand over, palm up, and studied it. What he found, or maybe didn't find, made him thank the boy and step back.

"Well, technically," he told Genma, "this shouldn't happen. The Sharingan is a recessive trait. I don't suppose you know his parentage...?"

Genma shook his head. "Nothin' doin'."

Fugaku sighed, face grim. "_Yare yare_. And how old did you say?"

"I'm ten." Akako apparently didn't like being talked over. "We guess."

Fugaku gave the boy another look. Akako was shorter than Itachi, who was small for ten. He was silent a moment. "I can see this is a special case," he said at last, and pulled out a notebook and pen. He scribbled something down, tore the page out, and handed it to Genma. There was an address on the paper: Genma marked it as being near the Uchiha districts. "You may take the boy there. Tell them what you told me, and they will be able to handle this."

Genma smiled, relief washing through him. "_Arigatou_, Fugaku_-san_."

Fugaku said nothing, merely waved a hand in clear dismissal and turned away. Genma nudged Akako and started them back down the streets. "Lucky brat," he told the kid, cheerfully. "The Uchiha are kinder to their bastards than the Hyuuga. Especially since you've got their _kekkai genkai_."

Akako was silent for a moment, as they walked down the streets. "So I'm a clanner?"

"Well, sorta." Genma waited, reading a further question in the boy's eyes.

"Do...do that mean I belong somewheres?"

The hope in that question made Genma's heart clench. He remembered what it was like to want to belong somewhere, anywhere, to be wanted by anyone. A gang made for a poor family, because a gang member was always looking to climb another rung in the ladder. The only way to survive was to climb higher. Ambition left little room for love. Genma had been so lucky to find the brotherhood he had with Ranma: luckier still to become a _ninja_ and have so many brothers-in-arms, not the least being Raidou.

Genma turned a smile he hoped was reassuring down to this dirty, unwanted little boy.

"Yes. Now let's get you to where you belong."

* * *

**A/N:** Yay! Genma and Raidou! There's so much fun. And Genma and Ranma! Also much fun! I apologize if anyone find their speech hard to read. Next chapter: We meet Raidou's Genin team! Poisoned _senbon_! Fights! Losing tempers! Itachi being cool!

My sister (Samurai101) has a new fic up! Ya'll should go read! It's only two chapters in, but it plays into "Dance With Me" and the situation with Naruto and the Uchiha. Why? How? Go read and find out! Yay for writing fics about obscure characters!

Itachi would like to have a word with you all, by the way.

**Itachi:** Ahem. I would like you all to notice that I AM **NOT** CUTE. Thank you.**  
Iruka:** Yeah, yeah, Hayate's the cute one! You're just the creepy inbred fireball-slinging--aiyah!**  
Hayate:** Please let me apologize for them.**  
Genma:** Yeah, you apologize to the readers, I'll go break up the fight...

EIGHT REVIEWS last chapter! A brilliant and heartfelt thanks to all who reviewed last chapter! Ya'll have no idea how much I appreciate every word. Thanks to: **InARealPickle**, **Shirayuki Tempest**, **Ally Plz**, **Fayari**, **Sonar**, **random logic person**, **eggomilburnigan**, and **WhyMustIWrite**!

**Yakuza** Organized crime. A bunch of gangs all working under one bossman

**Yare yare** Well well, a sort of verbal sigh

**Kekkai genkai** Bloodline limit, as proposed by Kishimoto_-sensei_

**Notes on:  
Skeeter** Once again, in the South, this is often used as slang for mosquito--the tiny, annoying, blood-sucking insect with the needle-bite that's hard to kill... Also used as mo-skeeter, which is always fun to hear!**  
Minners** The colloquial way of saying minnows, small fish used mainly for bait.**  
Pig-sty** The place where pigs are kept! But here referring to pig being slang for policeman.**  
The street-talk** Based heavily off of the Southern accent, including the mismatch of subject-verb agreement.**  
The street-cant** Most of the cant I used was made up on the run, slightly borrowed from the many fantasy books I've read. Thus **light-fingers** for pickpocket, **casing** for house burglary, **calling** for begging. **Binding** as I used it here refers to the practise (probably only in fantasy, but maybe also in real life) of using bandages or fake sores to imitate injury or illness for greater sympathy and money.


	39. Ch 38: Broken Wings

**A/N:** I am sickie. Running a temp of over a hundred degrees Fahrenheit. And coughing. And have lost my voice! I'm also having tons of fun with my new RPGs. Links and characters in my profile.

Oh! And please remember to check out **Samurai101**'s little piece, "Did You Ever Think?" a story chronicles the unlikely friendship between Namekaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage, and Uchiha Fugaku, a bond begun during the Great Ninja War and lasting until Minato's unfortunate death.

I do not own any the Naruto characters...but I'm seriously beginning to debauch the canon.

**It's just a little AU!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Broken Wings**

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* * *

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_March 27_

"Today, brats, we do something new," Genma announced as soon as he arrived.

Iruka wheeled around from bothering Hayate, eager and curious. "_Nan des ka_?" he asked. "A new _jutsu_? New training?" He bounced up to Genma, who stood his ground, amber eyes unreadable.

"_Chigau_." Genma tugged at his sling. "We'll be working with another Genin team for training. You brats have got decent team-work and good sparring skills. These are new graduates, and you'll be setting an example. So you'd better behave. Hear me, Iruka?"

Iruka saluted, grinning. "Yessir, Genma-_sensei_! I'll behave!"

Itachi snorted. "Genma-_sensei_, I think you're asking the impossible," he drawled. Iruka stuck his tongue out at him. Itachi merely raised an eyebrow. He looked like Fugaku when he did that.

"Iruka can behave," Hayate defended, gently. Iruka beamed and bestowed an enthusiastic hug upon his friend. Hayate huffed and coughed, but didn't protest otherwise. Iruka gave him an extra little squeeze, and stretched up to prop his chin on top of Hayate's head. He could do it...but only if Hayate scrunched a little. Fortunately, Hayate was in a good enough mood. With a sigh he obligingly scrunched. Iruka beamed.

Genma snorted at them. "I see you have your _tonfa_, Itachi."

"We were going to spar," Hayate rasped, from beneath Iruka. "I brought my _bokken_."

"Yeah, yeah, and after we wear Itachi out Hayate and I were gonna have at it! Because he's learned some cool stuff from his scrolls and I'm taller and easier to hit than Itachi is!" Also, Hayate was less afraid of permanently damaging Iruka when trying something new than he was of hurting Itachi.

"You enthusiasm for getting bruises never ceases to amaze me." Genma rolled his eyes. "Well, then have at it. Iruka, come over here and let's work on your _taijutsu_. Heaven only knows it needs improvement."

"Only because they won't let me use Kiriga," Iruka sighed, letting go of Hayate. "I think I got my footing right on the newest routine, though! I've been practising! Hayate's been smacking me on the ankles with his _bokken_ until I get it right. Wanna see the bruises?" he asked as he bounced over to Genma.

"I said I was sorry!" Hayate threw over a shoulder, as he started a warm-up routine, wooden sword in hand.

Iruka just laughed. The bruise hadn't been on purpose but it was funny anyway. Genma shook his head and told him to stretch. Iruka fell to it, careful of the wet ground and dead grass. The snow was mostly gone and the days warmer, but now there was slush everywhere and new green grass pushing aside the dry dead stuff. It was bad footing, especially for fighting.

As he straightened from his last stretch, he could hear the clack-smack of wood. Itachi and Hayate were hard at it. Itachi's wooden _tonfa_ made a distinct whistle as he spun them, the training weapons carved just so to make the noise. The ones he took on missions were forged steel, like Hayate's _katana_, and sang a different note in battle. Iruka didn't look, just grinned, and obediently set to the _kata_ routine of the Konoha _taijutsu_. He went through it once, and Genma offered both praise and corrections. Iruka set to it again, though he was honestly getting sick of this one routine.

The third time through, Genma suddenly shouted. "_Oi_! Raidou!"

Iruka skidded to a halt and turned to look. There indeed came Raidou, herding before him one tiny figure...and two taller ones. Iruka blinked in surprise. Those were older kids, not Genin-graduates, and they looked awful familiar....

"Hey! It's Kotetsu_-sempai_! And Izumo-_sempai_!" Iruka declared. The little girl walking with them looked familiar, but he couldn't recall her name. Iruka whipped his head around, looking for Hayate, who had ceased sparring with Itachi. "Hayate, Hayate, look!"

"I see," Hayate answered, before barking a sharp cough.

Itachi gave Hayate a mild glance, unperturbed by the fit, and looked to the newcomers, now close enough for proper greetings. "Oh, Yuuago-_sempai_," he chirped, and bowed. Iruka blinked and turned to see the dark-haired girl pause and bow back.

"Itachi-_kun_, it's nice to see you again," she said, and as she straightened, "And you too, Iruka_-sempai_, Hayate_-sempai_." Her eyes were a golden-chestnut, bright and clear in her pixie face. She was tiny, fine-boned like Itachi

"Oh, Yuuago-_kun_!" Hayate moved up beside Iruka and offered a short bow. "She was a year below us, Iruka." He elbowed Iruka.

Iruka huffed and dropped a belated bow. "I remember, I just couldn't remember her name!"

"So you all know each-other," Genma declared. "Saves time. Raidou, I thought they were giving you graduates."

"They did, to round 'em out. They were gonna split these two up. I convinced them to let me have 'em instead." Raidou shrugged. "Okay, brats, play nice while I sort something out with Genma here." Raidou cracked his knuckles and gave Genma meaningful look. Iruka sniggered to see how Genma's eyes widened and he abruptly looked like a guilty dog, head ducking.

"Um, if this is about the poison I boiled over...."

"No, this is about the poisoned _senbon_ I found. In my laundry." Raidou reached out and grabbed Genma by a shoulder, propelling the smaller man away from the collection of Genin.

Iruka exchanged incredulous looks with Hayate, clapping his hands over his mouth to keep from laughing. Clearly Raidou was alright but irked, and the thundercloud look on his face contrasted amusingly with Genma's expression, caught somewhere between alarm and bewilderment. Hayate rolled his lips, trying not to smile, and barked a short cough.

Kotetsu shifted, dark hair swinging as he honed in on Hayate, cat-slanted eyes bright. "Hey, it is the sickie!"

Right on his heels, Izumo piped in, grin cocked up and bordering wicked. "They let the sickie be a _ninja_?"

Iruka frowned a bit. As far as the older kids went, Kotetsu and Izumo hadn't been too bad. They were wicked creative with pranks, but they'd never deliberate hurt anyone. He'd forgotten just how much they liked picking on Hayate, though. Izumo's heavy bangs obscured his right eye, but the left matched Kotetsu's, bright with mischief and interest. They were both grinning, shoulder to shoulder in the kind of slouch that suggested cats ready to pounce.

"He's a very good _ninja_." Itachi's quirked eyebrow and slow drawl--to Iruka, by now well-versed in interpreting Itachi-ese--suggested that Hayate was better than both Izumo and Kotetsu combined.

"Oh, you don't have your _katana_," Yuuago chirped suddenly, and blinked up at Hayate. Either she'd recognized the need for a change of subject, or she just wasn't paying attention. Iruka grinned a bit, feeling the tension in the air ease.

"Eh? Oh, no, not today. It's a bit damp..." Hayate explained, voice softer than usual. He was shy now, with the newcomers. "And Itachi and I were sparring with his _tonfa_. So I brought my _bokken_ instead."

"So you fool around with fancy sticks?" Kotetsu sniffed. "No live steel?"

"Aaw, but they don't want to get hurt," Izumo declared. "Even the teacher's pet would get in trouble if he hurt an Uchiha."

"_Aa_, didn't think about that!" Kotetsu grinned, sharp and fierce. "You still the teacher's pet, Hayate_-chan_?"

Enough was enough--time to distract them before they really got in on Hayate, who would just sull up and take it. And Itachi was starting to bristle. Iruka bounced a step forward. "Hey, hey, standing around's boring! Let's do some sparring while your teacher chews out our teacher! How'd you get Raidou_-san_ as a teacher, anyway? I thought you guys had a team already."

He knew they'd been on a team with Anko, the creepy-awesome tomboy girl. He also knew they'd been under the Sandaime's best student, Orochimaru, and been left behind when Orochimaru had deserted. They'd been put on another team for taking the Chuunin exam....and then Iruka had lost track of them, because the topic hadn't ever come up again over tea with the Hokage, and Iruka had graduated at long last. He was a little surprised both older boys were still Genin. They'd been graduated early with Anko and they were really good _ninja_....Kotetsu was a whiz with traps and nobody in their class could beat Izumo for a _henge_.

Something in Kotetsu's face hardened, and Izumo closed down, features going quietly blank. "Well, y'know. Our team-mate flailed us in the first round of the Chuunin exams. Y'sure you wanna spar? I can wipe the floor with your dumb ponytail no problem, ya know." Kotetsu grinned, all cocky and brash again.

Iruka barked a laugh, feeling energetic and restless and eager for a spar. "I'm better than I was the last time I saw you," he declared. "Let's spar!"

"Sure, if you're that eager to get whooped." With a shrug, Kotetsu moved away from Izumo, and started stretching. He was almost a head taller than Iruka, not counting his spiky-hedgehog hairdo, and lanky-growing. Iruka sized him up quickly, and decided Kotetsu probably outweighed him by a good bit now. "Straight _taijutsu_? Weapons? _Chakra_?" the older boy asked, with an upside-down smirk.

"_Taijutsu_, and no _chakra_! 'Cause it's slippery and that'll be more fun!" Plus, less chance that any of Kotetsu's strikes would pose a threat; Iruka was going to take any chance he could to level the playing field just a bit.

Iruka moved across the slick grass. He was already warmed up. He watched as Kotetsu finished stretching, taking every chance he could to analyze and measure up his opponent. The other four moved back, arranging themselves into a little knot. Hayate had his _bokken_ over his shoulders, chatting softly to Yuuago. Itachi had one arm raised, _tonfa_ hooked over a shoulder, the other loose by his side. Izumo stood carelessly next to the group, not really a part of it, with Itachi between him and Hayate.

Kotetsu turned a sprightly cartwheel, bare hands slapping into the grass. "Here I come!" he declared, and lunged right into an attack routine.

Iruka laughed, the only reply he had time to make before Kotetsu closed. The older boy was fast and lithe, on par with Hayate's speed....only with mind-blowing flexibility. Iruka blocked the first two strikes with the correct response, tangling up Kotetsu's arms...and Kotetsu arched back and snapped a foot up in a split-kick that clipped Iruka's jaw. Iruka didn't spare breath for a yelp but skidded a step back across the slick grass. Kotetsu followed and within moments Iruka was only just holding his own on the defensive. He felt a thrill of alarm. It was like sparring with Genma: Kotetsu was just on another level of skill. Except Genma never left an opening, and there...! Kotetsu's feet slipped.

Moving forward was instinct, his hand fisting in Kotetsu's sleeve, snatching the older boy forward, other hand rising to slap down on a shoulder. Using weight and momentum he tumbled Kotetsu down to the wet ground in a textbook-perfect Kiriga throw.

Kotetsu hit and rolled and camp up damp, wearing a puzzled expression. Iruka grinned and launched right into the attack routine he'd been practising so much. Kotetsu's offense was near-perfect, but his defense was not. Iruka grinned, bright and savage, as he felt a kick slam home. Kotetsu took the kick and grabbed and pulled, trying to throw Iruka. Iruka went with the pull, hands thudding into the winter grass as he snapped his free leg up and nearly caught Kotetsu upside the head. With a hissed curse Kotetsu fell back, but only for a moment. He lunged forward, on the attack again, and Iruka barely had time to fall into the right guarding stance.

But now he had a better idea of how Kotetsu fought, and his confidence was growing. He was up to the challenge. He might not win but he knew he could hold his own at least for a bit. And sure enough, there came the slip, the falter...and Iruka lunged into the opening of the over-reached kick. The throw was considered beginner for Kiriga but advanced for Konoha, and Kotetsu looked even more bewildered and halfway frustrated.

Iruka abruptly recalled the older boy had a short fuse for a rash temper. Well, if he couldn't keep his cool, it would give Iruka the advantage. Iruka grinned his widest, sharkiest grin, worked up by the fight and feeling reckless. After all, he could hold his own against Kotetsu!

"C'mon, that the best you can do?" he called, and was still grinning when Kotetsu pounced.

It was all hard and fast, and Kotetsu was getting more aggressive. Iruka kept grinning, thrilling to singing high of adrenaline, pushing himself to keep up with the frantic pace. This was better than sparring with Hayate, even, because this was a challenge and he could throw himself headlong into it, get caught up in that wild fighting rush. Break and shift and he was really getting the flow of the fight, snapping out a brief series of attacks--and he landed two!--before Kotetsu pushed the offensive....too far. Iruka grabbed and twisted, bowling the older boy right over into the grass again.

Except this time, Kotetsu came up furious.

Iruka realized he just might have gotten himself in too deep about the time the palmful of _chakra_ sizzled past his skull. He dodged the next strike by a hair, elation gone cold and replaced by that numbing desperation of an out-matched fight. If Kotetsu managed to hit him with one of those.... Iruka slapped aside the high kick, feet sliding into Kiriga forms effortlessly, his whole world narrowing to just this fight. Kotetsu's face was set in a ritcus of blind rage, teeth bared, and he moved with lethal force behind his blows.

Worse yet, the flare of _chakra_ from behind told Iruka he might have to deal with Kotetsu and Izumo. _"Time to end this,"_ he thought, praying his team-mates could stop Izumo before things got really ugly. He dodged in towards Kotetsu, and came up under the older boy's guard. As Kotetsu twisted, coming around for a strike that would undoubtedly hit, Iruka grabbed onto Kotetsu's coat and dropped. He took them both down in a sudden jerk-and-roll, feet finding purchase on Kotetsu's thighs to kick the older boy over. Kotetsu landed on his back and Iruka kept with the motion. He ended up kneeling with a knee firmly on either of Kotetsu's arms, straddling his stomach, hands set just so for a chokehold should Kotetsu fight.

He almost did. Iruka could see it, feel the tension in the body beneath him. But Kotetsu stayed put, eyes glittering like dark coals, face twitching. Threat averted, Iruka became aware of the world around him...and that Genma was stalking closer.

"What kind of--" he started, but Iruka interrupted him.

"My fault," he said, and tried to make his voice calm, like Hayate's, instead of hyped-up and jittery the way he felt. "I made him mad."

"Not you," Genma snapped, and Iruka blinked. "Kotetsu. By all the gods, those were killing blows! Against a comrade! Losing your temper is no excuse! Get up, the both of you, and no more nonsense or I'll make sure you regret it." Genma's amber eyes were hard, sharp, and his face set, voice loud but level.

Iruka got up slowly, cautiously. The rage in Kotetsu's face was gone, shuttered into a dark, sullen expression that made Iruka want to wince. When...when had Kotetsu looked that way? Kotetsu...sure, he got angry, but he smiled. Iruka wanted to slink over to his team-mates, to feel their steady presence at his back. But instead he stood straight, one eye on Genma, the other taking in where everyone else stood: Hayate and Yuuago were standing back while Raidou supervised Itachi climbing off the still form of Izumo, _tonfa_ in hand. Iruka felt a mixed strike of triumph and alarm--what had Itachi done? How much trouble were they in now?

"To the others. Go." Genma stood back, and Iruka cast a wary glance at Kotetsu before half-scurrying over to the group. Izumo was sitting up now, reaching for the back of his neck with a dazed expression on his face. Iruka guessed Itachi had used one of the take-downs they taught the Uchiha police officers who wielded _tonfa_--he'd been learning them recently and had shown Hayate and Iruka several at their last team-meeting. Itachi looked up at Iruka with blood-red eyes, Sharingan-bright. Iruka offered him a wan grin. Hayate was fretting, biting his lip, and Yuuago looked frazzled indeed.

Genma didn't wait for Izumo to get to his feet before he started his lecture. "You brats should know better. Do you know how many counts of in-fighting this could put on your record? And this time you were the one provoking the fight! Fire, smoke, and ashes, Iruka, you do not harass allies in a spar!" He fixed Iruka with a fierce look. Iruka wanted to snap at him--but he had been hoping to make Kotetsu loose his cool. Just not like that.

"And Itachi. What in the world made you attack Izumo like that?"

Itachi blinked up at Genma, chin lifted, back straight. "He was gonna use a _genjutsu_, and I didn't like it. His _chakra_ was all twisted funny. And he used a hand-sign I didn't know."

Genma raised an eyebrow. "What seal?"

"Ox, boar, dragon, rabbit, dragon, and then this one." Itachi slipped his _tonfa_ into the loops at his belt, and carefully twisted his hands around to reproduce the seal, eyes fading from fire-bright to ash-grey again. Iruka scowled; because the hand-sign was odd, and he didn't think he knew....

Genma's breath hissed between his teeth. Iruka's eyes jumped to their teacher at the minute noise, and found him exchanging glances with Raidou--a hooded glance, unreadable, and a shiver bolted down Iruka's spine. Raidou looked back at Kotetsu and Izumo...who were now standing shoulder-to-shoulder again, looking sullen and fierce: a pair of stray dogs who expected to be kicked any moment. Iruka winced. Sure, he was mad, but he wasn't afraid of Genma. Or even Raidou, who was taller and even more intimidating than Genma, muscle and scars instead of whipcord slenderness. Kotetsu and Izumo looked afraid, but trying to hide it, Iruka thought.

"That's a Jounin-level technique," Raidou said, calmly, evenly. His arms were crossed, but his weight back on his heels. "I'm surprised you know how to reverse hand-seals." He paused. Neither Izumo or Kotetsu said anything. After a moment, Raidou went on. "Well. I think we need to do some talking, team. All of us. Thanks for letting us hang out with you, Genma."

"No problem." Genma had one hand in a pocket, casted arm held close, all casual and slinky. "Oh, and Yuuago_-chan_, that was very smart of you, coming to get us."

Yuuago grinned, a little wobbly. As she moved to join her team, Hayate patted her on the shoulder. She brightened considerably at that, with a very puppy-dog-eyed look. Iruka nearly sniggered. Raidou said nothing more, but crooked a grin at them and gave a lazy wave, herding the wary Izumo and Kotetsu before him, tiny little Yuuago right at his side.

Iruka turned to Genma....but their teacher was watching the leaving Genin, his face set in a neutral mask. He shook his head slowly. "I don't know what that traitor did to break those boys so badly," he muttered, and Iruka couldn't tell what tone that was....bitter? Or sad?

As if he sensed Iruka's questioning gaze, Genma turned back to them, and smirked. "Makes you brats seem less a headache. Do wonders never cease?"

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**A/N: **So all is not perfect in Paradise...er, Konoha. Well, poor Raidou, he gets saddled with the rejects and the disheartened....and dear sweet Yuuago. Who ran to get the teachers because girls are smarter than boys. Genma may be right: after that, Iruka and Itachi look pretty good, huh? Well, next chapter! Time gets a great big nudge--we'll go from March to May! Surprises in chests! Iruka's parents get more explanation! And Hayate gets to fret.

FIVE REVIEWS last chapter! That's barely enough to get you the next chapter, ya'll. Allow me to remind you: four reviews or less, updates stop. BUT a grand thanks goes out to: **Shirayuki Tempest**, **cdkobasiuk**, **Ally Plz**, **InARealPickle**, and **stupid thing**!

If you guys don't like what I'm doing here, or think I need to step up the pace, please tell me! I'm here for the long ride, after all, taking these boys from Genin to Chuunin, and spawning new universes as I go. Reviews aren't just to fluff my ego by telling me I'm doing good, they're also for making suggestions and constructive critcism. Or even plot suggestions! Scenarios you want to see the boys get into? Questions I haven't answered that you're desperate to know? Review, or even drop me a PM. It might take me a while to respond, but I will. Eventually.

**Nan des ka** What is it? Slangy version

**Chigau** Wrong, no

**Tonfa** Fighting weapons, and ones I can only give a very poor description of. Wikipedia it!

**Bokken** Carved wooden sword, usually made of hardwood, as opposed to a **shinai**, a sword made of bamboo

**-sempai** An honorific denoting "upperclassman." Can also be used alone, in place of a name.

**Notes:  
Reverse hand-seals:** I believe this idea originates in fandom? I have brorrowed it, at least, from the RPG "Fallen Leaves," where writers have used it to add strength or weaken certain jutsu. A link to this amamzing, talented RPG is in my profile! (No, I'm not one of the talented writers there. But there are many other writers there with impossibly good writing abilities.)  
**Orochimaru**: Yes, I realize that, canonically, Orochimaru only had Anko as his protege. My theory is that Orochimaru was given a full Genin team, but when he deserted, he only took the one with real talent with him, and left Izumo and Kotetsu behind. Mind, Izumo and Kotetsu are no slouches, as we'll get hints of in later chapters. This won't be the last time we met with Raidou's ragtag team.


	40. Ch 39: Let's Hope There's an Antidote

**A/N:** After almost seven month's hiatus, I think I have finally found my muses again. I'm so sorry to have done this to all of my faithful readers. But hopefully now I'll be able to get this massive plot rolling again. Here's to hoping.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

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**Chapter 39: ...Let's Hope There's An Antidote**

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_May 13_

Hayate watched carefully, trying to see clearly and not be mesmerized by the flex and dance of Iruka's feet, bare across the _tatami_, sweeping through a _taijutsu_ routine. He was watching...there! He hissed, and Iruka froze, poised precariously until he regained his balance. "What now?" he whined, scowling. "I thought I had it right!"

Hayate offered him an apologetic smile. "Not quite. Left foot turns out, not in," he corrected, reaching out to tap the offending ankle with his _bokken_. With an exaggerated sigh, Iruka corrected the error, not even looking. Hayate grinned as he got it right first try. "There. Back up and try again."

"If I have to." Iruka was pouting. "After I get this one right, can we pick it up and spar again?"

"Yes, but Konoha only!" When Iruka opened his mouth to protest, Hayate cut him off, gesturing with his wooden sword. "You know Genma-_sensei_ got onto you because you keep slipping up. And it's because we practise your Kiriga so much. So, Konoha first."

Iruka pretended to duck, even though he was well out of range of Hayate's bokken. "If you're going to be so violent about it...."

Biting back a laugh, Hayate mimed stabbing him. Iruka clutched at his chest and made appropriately wounded noises, until Hayate gave in and chuckled at him. Iruka beamed, high spirits restored by the silly play. Hayate smiled crookedly, fondly, at his friend. Even when Iruka was really annoyed, a few minutes of teasing could make him snap right out of it. Iruka stuck his tongue out at him, backed up a few more steps, and sank into the beginning stance for the _kata_. He swept into the routine; at first the moves had seemed harsh and unnatural, but now they flowed like they were supposed to, and Hayate grinned in sheer delight. As Iruka finished the routine near-flawlessly, Hayate gave a soft cheer.

Iruka whirled and beamed. "_Yatta_!" he declared, with a celebratory jump into the air.

"And now we spar!" Hayate declared, tugged at his wrist-bindings. Iruka cheered, and assumed a Kiriga stance. When Hayate glared at him, he chuckled.

"I know, I know..." Iruka re-settled his feet into Konoha's style. "If I get three hits in a row, we go back and do Kiriga!"

"Fair enough." Hayate placed his bare feet just so on the _tatami_, taking up a familiar stance from his father's _Tennen Rishin Ryu_. He raised his _bokken_, and grinned at Iruka. For a moment they stood, poised on either side of the room--furniture pushed to the walls, spring rain hush-hushing outside. A perfect moment of silence and anticipation. Hayate met Iruka's dark blue eyes, for just a heartbeat.

Space of a heartbeat only, because Iruka blurred into motion, _chakra_ swirling hot in the air, and his open-handed strike grazed Hayate's cheek as he dodged. He dropped to the side and spun, _bokken_ hissing through the air. The slap of wood-on-flesh sounded, but only for Iruka knocking the sword away, driving in with an attack aimed for Hayate's shoulder. Hayate rocked his weight back, dropping that shoulder, and snapped his leg up. The kick thudded into Iruka's ribs and the heavier boy dropped back with a huff. Hayate lunged, thrusting with his sword, diverting the strike at the last second, tapping Iruka's shoulder as he struggled to recover.

Iruka scrambled in under the strike, grabbing Hayate's wrist, and there was nothing for it but to go with the throw; Hayate dropped limp, hit and rolled across the _tatami_. He managed to whack himself in the elbow with his _bokken_ and came up in a guarding position, ready to deflect the strike he already knew Iruka was about to deliver. Wielding the wooden blade one-handed, he batted away Iruka's strike, and lunged to his feet with a fisted blow aimed for Iruka's gut.

Iruka responded with a sidestep and a swift counter-blow, a sharp slap to the fore-arm that stung--in a real fight, that would have been a broken arm, not a bruise, and Hayate knew it. Iruka came around with a low kick, but the sharp down-sweep of Hayate's _bokken_ made him scurry to withdraw. Hayate pressed his advantage with a swift series of strikes, pushing Iruka back. In a few steps more he'd have Iruka against the wall, and from there it would by easy to corner him....

Except Iruka had never been conventional. He whirled and ran up the wall, pushing off to flip over Hayate's head. Hayate spun and only just got his _bokken_ up in time to bat away Iruka's knife-hand....but the low punch caught him in the stomach and he huffed, doubling over. Iruka hadn't quite knocked the breath out of him, but it was enough to start him coughing.

Iruka stepped back and dropped his hands, puffing only a little. Hayate scooted his feet wider and tried to control his breathing. The humidity from the rain really helped, and within a few moments he could stand straight again, breath rasping softly in the far back of his throat. Iruka tilted his head to the side, a questioning gesture. Hayate shook his head. He needed a break or a drink now. Of course, he wouldn't have that luxury in a real fight....but sparring was really almost nothing like live fighting.

"Wah, we're just having problems today." Iruka scowled. "How 'bout instead we call it quits? I've finally got to where I can read the seals on this chest in my father's study, and I can get it un-trapped and we can open it and see what's in it!"

Hayate offered his friend a smile. "Why not? Then we can stop leaving _chakra_-scorches on your _tatami_."

"Eh, they're fine." Iruka dug his bare toe at one of the blackened marks. "Come right off if ya scrub'em good. C'mon, let's get you some juice, you sound nasty."

"Wait until May," Hayate grumbled raspily, but he followed Iruka, swinging his _bokken_ up over his shoulder as he went.

Into Iruka's warm little kitchen they went. Iruka immediately delved into the nearest cabinets, retrieving glasses for them. Hayate moved to the little refrigerator, fishing out the carton of juice. They met at the kitchen counter in silence, trading little smiles. The rain whispered outside, but it wasn't a dreary sound, nor was their silence. It was a warm spring rain, their quiet just as warm and comforting. The juice was almost achingly cold, sliding chill and soothing down his throat. Hayate took small sips and tried not to laugh when Iruka took too big a drink and spilled his juice down his front.

The drink and the rest restored his voice, but he still didn't talk. He and Iruka didn't have to, really. Sometimes it was nice to be quiet, to just be. Iruka leaned up against him as they finished their juice, poking him in the ribs with strong bony fingers. Iruka really was growing, getting bigger, and even though they sparred almost daily, Hayate still found himself startled by the seeming jumps in Iruka's reach and strength. But he was growing, too, little by little. He could tell, sometimes, in brief moments when he managed to match Iruka during their spars.

But right now, the top of his head was not-quite level with Iruka's nose. He tilted his head back to blink up at Iruka. "What's this about the chest in your father's study?"

"Oh!" Iruka's face lit up, blue eyes bright. "I can read the seals on the chest, at last, and I've figured out three of the traps! They're not hard, just layered over one another kinda funny. And the seals, well, if we do it right we're good."

"If we don't?" Hayate asked, feeling a twinge of foreboding.

"Um..." said Iruka.

Hayate winced. "Maybe we should wait...? Your _chakra_ control..."

"Hey, that's not my fault." Iruka scowled. "I don't know why I've been slipping. Unless it's cause I'm growin' or something. That might be why." His scowl turned thoughtful, and he reached up to rub at his nose. Hayate knew his scar was probably aching, because of the rain. "I mean, if your bones and stuff grow, makes sense your _chakra_-network might."

"That sounds like a good question for Genma-_sensei_." Hayate smiled a little. Genma and Iruka had taken to holding debates on medical-matters while Hayate and Itachi sparred. Occasionally, if they got really into it, the entire team practise would be turned into a lecture--and sometimes demonstration--on pertinent techniques. Last time, it had been on major arteries in the human body; finding them, either to target or to pinch off bloodflow to keep a team-mate from bleeding to death.

Genma knew more detail than they had really covered in the Academy, and usually added in completely random facts. Like how certain poisons affected bloodflow, or that a man bled out faster in warm weather than in cold weather. And that having too little blood was a very miserable experience, and made it ten times harder to get home; this he had explained with a wry sort of grin. Hayate knew now that grin meant the young man was speaking from personal experience.

Iruka shrugged and pushed away from the counter, all of a sudden, bumping Hayate free from his musings. "C'mon, let's go get that chest out!"

"Iruka...."

Despite Hayate's protest, Iruka bounced away. Hayate shook his head, set his glass down, and went after his friend. If Iruka couldn't be dissuaded, then at least Hayate could stand back and watch and run for help just in case. He sighed again, set his _bokken_ on the table as he passed, and followed Iruka's cheerful singing into the study. The song was one Iruka declared was a lullaby, but Hayate had never heard a lullaby about dying messily in a fight before. He entered the room in time to catch Iruka wrestling a medium-sized, leather-bound chest off a high shelf. The leather was marked with dark scrawls of ink, and sealed with what looked like _ofuda_--only Hayate recognized some of the _kanji_ there as _ninja_-seals. He watched Iruka struggle a bit before he got the thing balanced on a shoulder. Iruka turned and grinned at him.

"Alright, let's do it!" he cheered, and scuttled towards the door. Hayate stepped aside to let him pass, and then trotted along obediently behind.

Iruka set the chest in the center of the cleared _tatami_, and motioned for Hayate to come stand behind him. "Okay, so I gotta get the first lock and seal at the same time, then the second seal, then the last two locks. Locks are trapped, and I think the second seal has a _jutsu_ tied into it. Something to do with electricity that'll set off if I do it wrong. Like how _'Kaa-chan_ used to trap the cookie-jar with the _shihireei no jutsu_ that always got _'Tou-chan_ zapped 'cause he forgot the hare seal almost every time."

"And you're sure you've got this figured out?" Hayate asked, feeling uncertainty chill his hands.

Iruka grinned up at him. "Definitely. Just don't stand in front of the chest and we'll be good. Now, I need you to hold a few seals for me--remember the _chakra_-buffer thing I showed you, the other day?"

"The one for backlash. I do." Hayate nodded. "And that's all I need to do?"

"_Hai_!" Iruka's smile was bright and eager. Hayate's doubt withered under his friend's confidence. Iruka knew how to take things seriously....so it ought to turn out okay. "Ready?"

"I guess." Hayate moved to kneel behind Iruka, slightly off to the side. "_Ima ka_?"

"Yes, now."

Hayate half-closed his eyes, and pulled on his _chakra_. It flared bright and restless before he folded his hands into seals, shaping it and knotting it into the weave of the _jutsu_. Boar, horse, dragon, ox, dog and ox again...he could almost, in the twilight cast by the rain, see the _chakra_ shimmer around him, a thin layer like a second skin. He reached out and placed his palms flat on Iruka's back. There was a funny little shift, something like a hitch in his chest, and then Iruka was "covered" too.

The muscles in Iruka's back flexed as he flipped his hands through signs, his _chakra_ building and growing and flaring brighter--Hayate could almost feel it across his skin, and it reminded him of a wind-blown rain, warm like summer and stinging a little. He wasn't sure if he was imagining that or not; lately the feeling had been getting stronger, to the point where he felt like he could differentiate Iruka's _chakra_ from Itachi's... He shook the thoughts away as his own _justu_ wobbled, and concentrated on keeping the flow steady, under Iruka's rushing-quick fluctuation of _chakra_ that threatened to sweep it away.

It was almost like the centering exercises his father had taught him, learning the ways of the sword. Back straight, breathing steady, energy and body collected but calm. Even with his eyes closed, he was perfectly aware of the room, the size and shape; how Iruka sat with him, hands working rapid-flashes over the hide-bound chest. He could almost visualize the seals Iruka was using, though how he knew which one was which he wasn't sure, and he didn't want to ask because it asking might disrupt his concentration. He needed to concentrate, now because it was getting harder to keep the flow steady under Iruka's barrage and the _jutsu_-flickers from the chest as Iruka unwove the layers.

The first sizzling jolt of back-wash scared him, made his fingertips tingle with adrenaline and his heart leap in his chest. Iruka must have felt him jump, or felt the way his hold on his _chakra_ wobbled, because he muttered a soft: "S'okay," over his shoulder. Hayate swallowed nervously, but Iruka was right. They were still okay. He sank back into his centered state, and as he did the nervousness evaporated. The second recoil of a _jutsu_ coming undone under inexperienced fingers didn't bother him half so much as the first had., now that he knew they were okay still.

Iruka worked a moment more before he let his _chakra _ebb away. Hayate waited a beat before doing the same, slowly withdrawing his hands from Iruka's back. Again he felt an odd little shift, before everything settled around him, and he formed the two seals to end the _justu_, letting his _chakra_ ease away from his hold. Iruka turned and flashed him a brilliant, bright grin, overflowing with triumph. Hayate couldn't help but grin back, the thrilling anticipation of discovery shared between them. Hayate shuffled forward on his knees as Iruka reached over, delicately, and pried the top off. Hayate held his breath, peering over Iruka's shoulder.

Inside the chest was a wealth of paper: scrolls and loose-leaves and furled charts. Iruka eagerly dove into the depths, snatching up the first bundle that came to hand, eagerly scanning the contents. "Ah! Medical notes! See, see, that's _'Tou-chan_'s handwriting! Hey, these are from when he worked in Konoha's hospital!"

"How can you tell?" Hayate asked, squinting at the cramped _kanji_.

Iruka pointed to a line. "Date, here, and he mentions me! 'Took _oikawa-chan_ to work with me today, he helped stitch up an Academy student. Needs more practise with a needle.' I don't remember that."

"Did you actually help him?" Hayate wanted to know, half horrified at the idea. But then, if Iruka was the son of a medic...

"_Iya_, probably not." Iruka chuckled, and laid the papers aside. " _'Tou-chan_ had a funny sense of humor!" He delved back into the chest, fingers eager but reverent. "Oh! hey! Lookit!" He tugged free a thick scroll, bound 'round with _ofuda_. Hayate read the _kanji_ swiftly, and surprise bolted through him.

"Hey, isn't that--"

"The summoning scroll!" Iruka cut him off with a joyous whoop. "It's the other half, the contract that we needed!" He jumped up to his feet and went charging off, scroll in hand. Within moments he was back, bearing a second scroll. "See! Now we can do it!"

Hayate hesitated. "But...summonings can be dangerous...."

"It's not a big summoning," Iruka answered. "And 'sides, it's a family contract." He sat down and unrolled the thick contract scroll. "See? There's _'Kaa-chan_'s name! Oh! And _Ojii-sama_'s name! Oh cool!"

"Your grandfather?" After hearing Iruka's almost childish renditions mother and father, it was odd to hear him show such respect. Hayate shuffled closer on his knees and peered at the scroll. "You never mentioned your grandfather...."

"Because he's dead. And a secret." Iruka nodded. "I fell on his sword when I was little, see?" He pointed to the scar across his face, grinning. "So '_Kaa-chan_ put his _tachi_ up on the shrine in their bedroom, and started teaching me _taijutsu_. I was really little, though, so I don't remember much about falling on it." He settled back to the scrolls, unrolling the second one. "Poisonous octopus, here we come.... Oh, I bet we need water for it. Let's get a bowl or something!"

It took a few more minutes of getting ready and convincing....Hayate still wasn't sure that this was the grand idea that Iruka seemed to think it was. But Iruka was determined to do it, and since he couldn't dissuade him, that meant Hayate was going along with it. Just in case Iruka needed help. But soon enough they had it all laid out; the scrolls, the jar of water, the clean kunai Iruka would need for the blood, the brush and bowl of ink. Iruka would write his name on the contract with a mixture of blood and ink, put the prints of his fight hand in blood on the scroll, then attempt to summon the octopus. Hayate crossed his fingers and sent up a prayer to the gods and any of Iruka's ancestors that were listening.

Iruka picked up the _kunai_ and very carefully made a fist. Setting the blade against the side of his wrist, he glanced sidelong at Hayate. "Can you run get some gauze and tape for me?"

Nodding, Hayate hopped to his feet and trotted off to the bathroom, where Iruka's first-aid kit lived. He quickly rummaged out a roll of gauze and a roll of tape, and came back. Iruka was carefully holding his dripping wrist over the dish of ink, mixing the thick dark pigment together. Hayate sat down behind him and started sorting out the gauze, folding a bit into a small pad and putting it awkwardly with a _kunai_. Iruka was writing his name in long, careful strokes, tongue sticking out as he did it just right. Hayate waited, watching as he set the brush down and started wiping his cut wrist on his right hand. It took several passes before Iruka's palm was suitably coated. He dabbed each fingertip again, just to be sure, then held his wounded wrist out for Hayate.

Hayate quickly set the pad he'd made over the cut and made a few passes with the gauze. It was tricky to hang onto everything and still cut the gauze, but he managed. Cutting the tape was much easier. By the time he was done, Iruka was, too, and waiting. Hayate nodded and scooted back, just in case!

Right hand bloody, left wrist bandaged, Iruka started the signs for the _jutsu, chakra_ flaring. Hayate couldn't help but hold his breath as Iruka finished the signs and slapped his bloody hand flat to the _tatami_. "_Kuchiyose no jutsu_!"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then there was a wrenching spike in Iruka's _chakra_, a sudden puff of magical smoke and a noise that could be conceivably be spelled "poing!" Despite his earlier eagerness, Iruka sprang backwards, until the smoke dissipated and revealing a wet, slimy-looking lump of....something. Something mottled a sort of dull yellow with sort-of dusky circles. Hayate blinked, wondered if something was wrong, then realized that of course, octopi had no bones.

Iruka poked the slimy blob, then scooped the mass up and dumped it into the jar of water. As the creature left his hands Iruka suddenly yelped and snatched back. He stared with incredulous blue eyes at the octopus--which, now in the water, was looking more like a cephalopod should--before looking up at Hayate. His face had gone suddenly pale and Hayate felt his heart drop.

"Hayate...I think it bit me."

* * *

It wasn't even five minutes before they'd reached Genma's door, but already Iruka seemed to be having trouble breathing. Hayate, carrying the jar of octopus, was getting to be really, really frightened. What if they hadn't gotten here in time? What if Genma couldn't help them? What if Iruka... But Iruka couldn't--he didn't--Hayate didn't know what he would do if....

Genma flung his door open beneath the knocking, and looked disgruntled and sleepy for all of two seconds. That was as long as it took for him to see Iruka, and then his eyes widened. Almost before Hayate could begin to explain, Genma had them both inside, with Iruka sitting propped up on the couch, and Genma asking questions rapid-fire. Hayate huddled on the floor by Iruka's leg, afraid to stop touching him, and tried to answer as best he could.

"I-It was the summons, Iruka thinks it bit him. I don't know what kind of poison..."

Genma cast a glare at the jar, also on the floor beside Iruka, and moved to press his hands against Iruka's face, check his pulse, ask him to wiggle his fingers and toes. Iruka obliged, but slowly, eyes shut as he breathed in sharp gasps, face pale now. His skin was cool beneath Hayate's hands, and Hayate bit his lip hard, feeling tears sting his eyes. He was too old to cry when he was afraid, and he knew that, and _ninja_ shouldn't ever cry, but he couldn't help it. he was terrified that Iruka was going to die, and it would be his fault because he hadn't stopped Iruka from trying to summon the octopus.

"Flames," Genma muttered, examining the palm of Iruka's hand for the tiny bite. "I'm guessing neurological, but what kind?"

There was a sudden series of off, almost musical taps. It sounded as it someone had struck something metal against a glass full of water... Hayate and Genma, as one, turned to stare at the jar. The octopus inside stared at them with its wierd oblong pupils. In one long tentacle it held one of Genma's _senbon_, of which there were several scattered across the floor. The octopus tapped this against the rim of the jar, seeming to cringe a little with each tap. Genma suddenly scowled, mouthing something to himself, then leaped up and tore across the room, rummaging madly in his poison-drawers. He came charging back with a syringe full of clear liquid in his mouth, and grabbed Iruka's arm. He expertly dropped his thumb over the great vein in Iruka's elbow, used his teeth to take the cap off the needle, and stuck Iruka easily.

Hayate watched, half in fascination and half in rising hope as Genma drew back the plunger. Blood swirled dark and smoke-like into the clear liquid before Genma depressed the plunger, injecting Iruka with the full dose. He withdrew the needle and pressed his thumb over the great drop of blood that welled up at the site, easily re-capping his needle.

"That should help," he told Iruka, and his voice was calmer now, steady and in control, instead of tight and terse. Hayate felt relief flood all over him, like a chill, cool and soothing. "It'll take a moment, though. Just try to keep breathing, and tap Hayate if it gets any worse, okay?"

Iruka glanced at Genma, briefly, and jerkily nodded. Genma smiled a little at him, then looked down at the octopus. "And whyever did you bite him? That was a stupid thing to do."

The octopus tapped something out again. Hayate realized it was code: _kid surprised me. he's not his mother. but he'll be fine. has immunity from his mother._

Genma shook his head. "Of all the stupid...."

_besides,_ added the octopus. _sealed the pact._

At this, Iruka--who seemed to be breathing easier, Hayate noticed with glee--opened his blue eyes a sliver, and grinned at them all, looking a hint smug and satisfied, though still pale. Genma swore at him, but Hayate smiled with pure relief and laid his head on Iruka's knee.

* * *

**A/N: **So! We're starting again! As I write, I am working on the next chapter. I will try to have at least semi-regular updates. We'll see how that plan goes. After reworking of timelines, plots, and general nonsense, we'll see what I can do to finish this. Maybe one day I'll rewrite this and make it better. We'll see, huh?

**Also,** (shameless plug) I have started a Naruto writing-based RPG with a few of my friends. We're looking for OCs (original characters, folks!) and very minor bit characters. The links are in my profile: come check us out, see if you like what's going on!

A belated thank you to the very many who reviewed the last chapter (seven months ago!):** Sonar**, **InARealPickle**, **cdkobasiuk**, **Lydia**, **D Redd Coyote**, **Harrharr**, **stupid thing**, **TombCrank the Crafty**, **Ally Plz**, **Shirayuki Tempest**, **silvermonkey**, **Mariana T.**, **Kouri Saves The Day**, **ColourVegan**, **Dannamae**, **IceDragon3**, and **Elf Dreamer**!

**Tatami** = Woven mats that cover the floors in Japanese houses

**Taijutsu** = In the Naruto 'verse, physical fighting, the art of the trained body, martial arts

**Bokken** = Wooden training sword, usual katana-length, often made of oak

**-sensei** = Suffix meaning 'teacher,' but also often used for great respect

**Kata** = a series of set moves for a martial arts discipline

**Yatta** = Exclamation of accomplishment, 'I did it!' or 'We did it!'

**Tennen Rishin Ryu** = The sword style used by the Shinsengumi, here used by Hayate's samurai father and Hayate himself

**Chakra** = Body energy, life energy, the magical force of Kishimoto's ninja

**Ofuda** = Holy talisman, or a strip of paper with a god's name written on it

**Jutsu** = Naruto-verse magic spells, but the word itself means 'art' or 'way of doing'

**'Kaa-chan, 'Tou-chan** = Mother, father, properly **Okaasan **and **Otousan** but Iruka is using the childish renditions.

**Shi hi re e i** = Japanese numbfish or electric ray

**Hai** = Yes

**Ima ka** = 'Now?' as a question

**Oikawa** = Minnow

**-chan** = Suffix of endearment or cuteness

**Ojii-sama** = Grandfather, the proper way of saying it

**Tachi** = A very long sword, made like a katana, but longer and worn singly

**Kunai** = The ninja throwing-knife

**Kuchiyose no jutsu** = Summoning jutsu, art of summoning

**Blue-ringed Octopus** = Iruka's new summons from Kiriga! Family summoning contract from his mother's side. Poisonous octopus, usually quite small in size, that lives in the Pacific Ocean from Australia to Japan. Strong paralytic neurotoxin injected in the creature's bite, if intervention is not made, death occurs by suffocation and cardiac arrest within a few hours. In the real world, there is no antidote--but then, in the real world, there are no giant talking frogs either.


	41. Ch 40: Chrysanthemums and Cake

**A/N:** Wow! I was surprised by how many of you jumped up and welcomed me back! I was sure I'd get a few more kicks and 'you sorry dog's than I did. Thank ya'll so much for your kind words, warm welcome-backs, and eager reading.

I do not own any of the Naruto characters.

But I do own this very Alternate Universe!

* * *

**Chapter Forty: Chrysanthemums and Cake**

**

* * *

**

_May 26th_

"Don't drop those," Itachi cautioned for at least the twentieth time since they'd left the house.

" 'M not," Sasuke retorted, poutily, and frowned at Itachi over the armful of white flowers. Almost all that could be seen over the bouquet were his large blue eyes and dark bangs. Itachi wasn't sure, but he thought Sasuke's eyes were starting to look greyish.

Maybe it was wishful thinking. After all, there was that old saying...and Itachi's baby-blue eyes had been ash-grey by the time he'd been three. Sasuke would soon be four.

Itachi sighed and remembered to slow down again before Sasuke could complain. It was so annoying to have to wait up for his baby brother! He hadn't wanted to bring him along at all, but Mikoto had cheerfully declared Itachi couldn't carry both flowers and cake, so Sasuke should go along and help. Itachi had only wanted to bring flowers...because it was a Tuesday.

It was a Tuesday...and it was Iruka's birthday. He was fourteen today, on the day he stood to mourn his parents.

So, the chrysanthemums, smelling of funeral sweetness, shaded white for the color of the dead.

Only, when his mother had asked him where he was going--since he didn't have a team meeting today--Itachi had told her it was his team-mate's birthday. Mikoto had insisted she bake a cake, then, for the celebration. Itachi wasn't entirely sure 'celebration' should be included on this day, but he hadn't been able to tell her why not. He was carrying the cake, because Sasuke would probably drop it. The cake would be more hurt by being dropped than the flowers would.

They hadn't gone all the way to the October Memorial, because that was a long walk, and Sasuke only had little short stubby legs. So Itachi had decided they would check at Iruka's house first, because while that was still a pretty long walk, it wasn't half as far as the memorial. Besides, it was lunch-time now, and Hayate had probably herded Iruka home--or to Hayate's house--to eat. Hayate's house was closer....but it was Iruka's birthday.

Itachi walked down the dirty, pot-holed street with his head high and Sasuke's chubby fist clinging to the corner of his jacket. He paid no attention to the grungy street-brats who jeered at them, because he was a _ninja_ and better than they were. Besides, he was an Uchiha, and they only had to look at the fan emblem patched onto his jacket before they were silent again. The Uchiha were the policemen of Konoha. As one of them, Itachi deserved respect, especially from wild hooligans on the street with dirt in their unbrushed hair.

He had to remember to slow down again for Sasuke before they reached the end of the street, and Iruka's little ramshackle house. The porch steps creaked underfoot, and the place was silent. Itachi pulled a _kunai_ from his pouch and used the butt of the knife to knock against the door-frame. It was louder than knuckles, and hurt a lot less.

"Think he's home?" Sasuke whispered, tugging on Itachi's jacket. "It's quiet here..."

"Not everyone is as loud as you and Naruto and Shisui-_nii_," Itachi rebuked, scowling with annoyance. He was trying to listen but he couldn't do that when Sasuke was talking. Sasuke frowned, hurt written on his round little face, but Itachi was listening again.

That sounded like footsteps, maybe... And Hayate opened the door a fraction, peering through. He looked surprised to see Itachi and Sasuke with their burdens, but instantly pulled the door wider. "Oh, _kon'nichwa_, Itachi, Sasuke-_chan_. Please come in. What brings you here?" Hayate's voice was frayed more than usual, his words quiet and somehow with effort behind them. His smile was polite as ever but Itachi thought his dark eyes were tired.

"We're here to visit Iruka, of course," Itachi answered crisply, bowing a little before stepping inside, slipping his _kunai_ back into its pouch. Sasuke bowed a little clumsily, imitating his brother while trying not to drop the flowers, and pattered in right on Itachi's heels.

"We brought cake 'n fl'ers," Sasuke lisped.

"Fl-ow-ers," Itachi corrected, annoyed with Sasuke's baby-ish pronunciation.

"Cake and flowers," Sasuke repeated, slowly and carefully, with a blue-eyed glance up at Itachi.

Well, that was better. Itachi nodded and Sasuke beamed up at him. "If Iruka is feeling okay for visitors," Itachi told Hayate, imitating what his mother said when they went visiting sick relatives. Iruka wasn't sick, but he might not want to be visited if he was feeling sad. Itachi knew there were times he didn't want to be talked to, so it stood to reason Iruka might feel that way too. Even if Itachi had never really known him to be that way....

But Hayate's polite smile had quirked up at the right corner, turning a bit more real. "We're in the kitchen," he answered gently, and waited while the two Uchiha took off their shoes.

They followed Hayate into Iruka's kitchen, which looked a whole lot cleaner since Itachi had last seen it, earlier that year, covered in snow and debris. It looked like a proper kitchen now, with the tile floor swept clean, and Iruka was at the sink, drying off the last of the dishes that had probably been used for lunch. He turned and blinked at the two behind Hayate with surprise written all over his features.

"Hey," he greeted, and his voice was subdued, and he didn't smile.

Itachi was taken aback by the lack of a smile. Iruka always smiled. He hesitated, but only for a moment, frowning a little as he marched up to the kitchen counter and carefully deposited his cake-box there in relative safety. " '_Kaasan_ sent you a cake," he reported. "It's yellow with chocolate frosting. Because it's your birthday. Happy birthday, Iruka."

"Happy birf'day!" Sasuke echoed brightly, pattering up to Iruka and offering up the bouquet of white chrysanthemums.

"You got me flowers?" Iruka asked, bewildered, looking between the toddler and Itachi. "Um, thanks?" he managed, taking the flowers from Sasuke.

"No," Itachi hissed, annoyed. "The flowers are for...for your parents. To leave at the monument." He lost his steam halfway through, ending in a somewhat meeker tone of voice. It had sounded like a good idea, thought up on his own; but now, faced with Iruka's unsmiling face and dark tired eyes with tear-tracks dried on his cheeks, Itachi didn't feel quite so confident.

"Oh Itachi," said Hayate softly, wonderingly, and when Itachi looked, there was approval and a very soft little smile on Hayate's face, one that touched his eyes and made him seem less tired. The approval from the older boy gave him a bit more courage and Itachi stood a bit straighter, lifting his chin again.

"Do you like them?" Sasuke asked, guilelessly.

The expression on Iruka's face turned slowly from surprise to sort of achey smile. He closed his eyes for a moment but when he opened them again, he said, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. Thank you, Sasuke-_chan_, Itachi." His voice was a bit wobbly, but he was smiling again, even if it was a smile that made Itachi's heart hurt in his chest. "I...I'm sure _'Kaachan_ and _'Touchan_ will like them, too."

"We can take them later, when we go again this afternoon," Hayate suggested. "Should we put them in water so they won't wilt 'till then?

"I think there's a jar in the top cupboard," Iruka answered, and Hayate moved to retrieve it. Iruka looked again at the flowers, and as he glanced up at Itachi again, his eyes caught the light and glinted impossibly blue for a heartbeat. "Thanks. You...you didn't have to," he said, and his normally-loud voice was toned soft as Hayate's.

"You're my team-mate," Itachi sniffed. His father always told his officers, _'you're my men'_ when he did something nice for them, like visit them in the hospital or give them an extra day off. You took care of the people around you, especially when you had the power to do more than they could. "And it's your birthday," he added, a bit more graciously. Birthdays were special days for everyone.

"Yeah!" Sasuke chirped. "How old 're you, 'Ruka-_nii_? Older than _'niisan_?"

Iruka handed the flowers to Hayate, who had gotten out a jar and filled it with water. As Hayate put the flowers in the water, Iruka crouched down to grin at Sasuke. "Lots older. I'm fourteen today!"

"Wow! That's almost as old as Shisui-_nii_!" Sasuke declared, and after a glance at Itachi reached out and hugged Iruka around the neck. "Do you gots lotsa candles to light, too?"

"Don't you mean blow out?" Iruka asked, hugging Sasuke back.

"Uh-uh. Light the candles and wish!"

Itachi smirked when Iruka and Hayate both looked confused. "It's an old Uchiha tradition," he told them, smirking still. "Light the candles, and if you don't set the cake on fire too, your wish will come true." Itachi couldn't wait to light his own candles--now that he could breathe fireballs like everyone else, he would get to light his candles on his own this year, instead of his parents doing it for him.

Hayate blinked, looking taken aback, but Iruka barked a sudden laugh, and smiled at Itachi. "You Uchiha are so strange. No, I don't have any candles," he told Sasuke. "But maybe we could have cake anyway. What do you think?"

"Yeah!" Sasuke cheered, grinning brightly.

"I'll get plates," Hayate said, and he was smiling soft and crooked, the best of all his smiles. Itachi decided that even if he hadn't managed to cheer Iruka up, at least he'd made Hayate feel better, and that was a good thing too.

Because even though Iruka was smiling, it was like Hayate's false smiles--it didn't quite touch his eyes or light his whole face. Even his ponytail seemed to be droopy, though he chattered with Sasuke loudly and quickly enough. Sasuke didn't seem to notice the false shine of Iruka's patter, but then, Sasuke didn't really notice much at all. Itachi made a face and moved to help Hayate cut the cake. Mikoto made good cakes, after all!

* * *

Itachi was carrying the chrysanthemums now.

Iruka was carrying Sasuke.

That was a good thing, because after eating cake, Sasuke was rather sticky. Well, Itachi mused, Sasuke was usually sticky and wanted to hug Itachi, which was so annoying! Sasuke was always wanting to hug him and be around him and follow him everywhere until Itachi was ready to do like the family cat and give Sasuke a full set of scratches just so he'd go away! But Mikoto told him to be nice to his little brother, and Fugaku would spank him if he hurt Sasuke, so Itachi just tried to find hiding spots. It was lots easier now that he could tree-walk, like the family cat.

The scent of chrysanthemums rose heavy and sweet from the flowers in his arms. He didn't like the overpowering smell. It was too sweet, too thick. But Hayate had asked him if he would carry the flowers while Hayate carried the vase, and because Iruka had already scooped up Sasuke Itachi hadn't wanted to say no.

Iruka bounced a few steps, just to make Sasuke giggle. Itachi frowned a little. Iruka carried Sasuke easily...of course, he was so much bigger than Itachi was. He was growing fast, and now Itachi's head only came up to Iruka's elbows. Itachi wished he would hurry up and get bigger, because it was aggravating being so small. Especially now that Iruka could beat him sparring just because he was that much bigger. At least Hayate hadn't grown so much yet.

Hayate's curls only just topped Iruka's jaw, but Itachi's head was almost on level with Hayate's shoulder, which was part of why Hayate made such a good sparring partner. Another reason was because he was so much more patient that Iruka, and his timing was predictable, even if he could move so very fast. Itachi glanced up at the older boy, walking sedately beside him. Hayate was watching Iruka and Sasuke with a little grin. He looked down, and caught Itachi looking. Itachi quickly shifted his eyes to the flowers he was carrying.

"Thank you for bringing Sasuke," Hayate said, softly. "And everything else."

The cake and flowers Itachi could understand being thanked for, but not his little brother. "Why Sasuke?"

Hayate's smile grew, and he glanced at the two ahead of them, Iruka skipping a little over the paving stones, Sasuke riding pig-a-back and cackling with laughter. Hayate's dark eyes were warm and fond and grateful all at once as he met Itachi's curious gaze. "Because. Iruka's not thinking so hard about being alone anymore."

That startled Itachi, but after a moment, he decided it did make sense. He too looked at the pair, watched for a moment Iruka's quick smile as he told Sasuke about having tea with the Hokage yesterday. Iruka was acting more like he should, rambling and random and quick. Itachi glanced up to find Hayate still watching, waiting patiently. Itachi nodded, and Hayate's smile widened a fraction. He set a hand on Itachi's shoulder, a brief and gentle touch, gone before Itachi could shrug it away. That was the nicest thing about Hayate--he tried so very hard not to be annoying.

As they all turned to go down the shady path to the October Memorial, Itachi decided his idea had been a good one. Even bringing along Sasuke hadn't ruined everything, like he'd been sure it would.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the all-fluff chapter. Hopefully the next will have more action and bite. (Even if Sasuke is adorable at this age!) We're plodding on slowly, as I wade my way through life, but so far we're heading steadily on. Next chapter, we've got a bit of an odd mission.

A very surprised, somewhat meek, but fervently grateful thanks to my dedicated reviewers: **Fayari**, **JediBourne**, **cdkobasiuk**, **InARealPickle**, **Sonar**, **ElfDreamer**, and **Conversation Hearts**!

And to **Conversation Hearts**: My views and writing have changed a good deal since I began this story. I am now only continuing to italicize the Japanese for the sake of continuity.

As for reviews, you see, I don't really have to put this story up. I'm writing it mostly for my own amusement--and what's the point of putting more useless fiction out there if no-one will read it? I'm not saying this out of pride, but simply out of sensibility. The reviews are a way of saying "hey I care!" and letting me know people really are interested. There are already loads of Naruto fiction out there, some better and some worse. My story's a drop in the bucket, so to speak.

But yes, Ranma does know Genma's a ninja. In fact, he encouraged him to be one, way back when! Their backstory, entwined with Radiou's, is an avenue I can't explore fully in this fic, I think; but maybe one day it'll get told, too.

**A note on chrysanthemums:** Chrysanthemums, also called mums, are old-fashioned flowers that grow basically all over the world. They are cultivated into a wide variety of shapes and colours, and have both herbal and insecticide properties as well as being ornamental. In Europe, white chrysanthemums are symbolic of death; in China and Japan, they are flowers for mourning and grief.

**Kon'nichiwa** = Good day, hello

**-chan** = Suffix of endearment, used with small children and girls

**'Kaasan** = Mother

**-nii, 'niisan** = Older brother, used here both as a suffix and as a name, but I'm not sure that's entirely proper


	42. Ch 41: Otherside

**A/N:** Hey guys!

Yeah, I know. It's been a long, looong time.

Rather than make excuses, I present to you: GIANT CATS.

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**Chapter 41: Otherside**

_June 5th_

Genma read the scroll, and raised an eyebrow at the contents. That was...a bit unusual. The Genin clustered around him all exchanged sudden looks of expectation. Genma smirked, rolled his _senbon_ to the other corner of his mouth, and handed Iruka the scroll. Iruka scanned it, started to look confused, and read it again. He passed it to Hayate, who read it solemnly, and finally gave it to Itachi. Itachi read it several times before handing it to Genma again, with a bland look that still managed to convey he fully expected Genma to explain.

"Well, let's go meet with our client," Genma said instead, and mentally smirked at the dismayed expressions this evoked.

"Genma-_sensei_!" Iruka demanded.

"We can't go until we understand our orders, Genma-_sensei_," Itachi said, and there was a sort of sly victory in his tone.

Genma hadn't intended to leave without explaining, but even if he had, Itachi's reminder would have stopped him. The boy had a right to look slightly smug-his argument was not even technically an argument at all, just a repetition of what Genma had taught them. He nodded to Itachi, conceeding the point, and Itachi smirked a very tiny smirk.

"We are going to escort Fukaimori Leiko and her familiar back to her village, as requested. 'Return escort with candidates' means we'll be returning to Konoha with kids, either for the Academy or the Chuunin exams this year. Or both." Genma rocked back on his heels, and crossed his arms, waiting for the inevitable questions.

"But I thought Konoha was the only_ ninja_ village in the Fire Country," Iruka declared, frowning.

"I thought that once too, brat," Genma told him, not unkindly. "But we are the best. Anything else you want to know?"

"What does it mean by 'familiar'?"Hayate asked, quietly.

"Now that," Genma told him, "you'll find out soon as we meet her. Everyone ready? Let's go."

Genma had worked with the Fukaimori clan once or twice, back during the war. They were a minor _ninja_ clan that lived within the deep woods on the borders of the Fire Country and Grass. They claimed no nationality, being contrary like that, and there were roughly equal numbers of them wearing Kusa or Konoha hitai-ate. This trip probably wouldn't take more than three days, or so, Genma mused, knowing the village they were heading to. It had been part of the supply route to the front during the war...and in being stationed there for some months, Genma had come to know of the Fukaimori clan.

Which was why he was not surprised in the least to find a woman waiting in the next room with a huge tawny forest-cat curled at her feet. Iruka checked up noticeably, and Itachi's eyes widened. Hayate took one look at the giant feline and grinned. Genma rolled his lips and tried not to laugh at that-of course, Hayate loved cats. He walked up to the woman, who wore a Konoha _hitai-ate_, a blue-and-white sling around her neck, and close-fitting clothes in shades of tan and fawn, to match her familiar's fur.

"Leiko-_san_? We'll be your escort. I'm Genma, and these are my Genin: Iruka, Hayate, and Itachi."

The woman's face was painted, with her eyes outlined in khol and a white streak marked beneath each eye. A pattern of five dots was tattooed over each cheek-bone, like the freckles of a cat's whiskers. Her eyes were a vivid shade of green, and when she smiled her teeth had sharp points. "Well well! Nice to meet you." She glanced over the Genin, and ran a hand through her short unruly brown hair. "Fine kittens you've got, Genma. I wouldn't need an escort, but I got my arm broken on a mission, and, well, you know how it goes. Oh, and this is Taree."

Her tone was jovial and her manner friendly. Genma smiled back, relieved. Some of these people could be just as touchy as their cats... "Pleasure to meet you both. Shall we go?"

"Ready when you are." Leiko indicated her pack and cat.

"We'll meet you at the Northwest Gate in a half-hour's time," Genma informed her.

"Excellent." Leiko smiled again, and at her feet, the giant cat blinked solemnly, eyes green as the woman's.

Genma was quite pleased that all his Genin turned up at the right gate punctually. True, Iruka looked a bit flustered and Itachi-who had the farthest to go-looked a bit winded, but they were all ready to go. With a little smile, Genma turned to their client. Leiko nodded, and headed out the gate. She and Taree moved with the same sort of sinuous grace through the crowd. Most of them parted in shock at the sight of the forest-cat, who was almost three feet tall at the shoulder and from nose to tail longer than Genma was tall. They moved to the gates, displayed papers and certificates, and were soon striding down the road outside of Konoha's great walls.

They reached the edges of the forest. Genma stopped, and nodded to his Genin. "Alright, brats. What's the plan?"

There was surprise on their faces, but then Itachi nodded, grey eyes narrowing. It was all part of the teaching process. Genma wanted to see what the three of them would come up with without his guidance. They should know by now what the general protocol was; they'd been on enough escort missions. This was the first time he wasn't having a hand in the planning, however. He watched as the three of them huddled close. There was much whispering, a great deal of Iruka waving his hands, and several hissing jabs from Itachi. Genma smiled to himself as they peeled out from their huddle and approached. Now to see what they had learned so far. He was pleasantly surprised when Itachi stepped towards Leiko, not Genma, and addressed her calmly and confidently.

"Since you're injured, Leiko-_san_, we would like to form up in a diamond, with Genma-_sensei_ taking point, and you in the middle. Where would your familiar be placed?" Itachi asked, lifting his chin and tipping his head back to look up at Leiko.

She smiled, but did not crouch to answer him. Genma was glad-it would have made the little brat mad. "Taree will follow as she pleases. I do not dictate what she does."

The great cat pricked its ears and twitched its long, black-tipped tail. Itachi took a step back, and scowled, but bowed to the cat. Genma was a little surprised by that...but then, didn't the Uchiha clan have a history of working with cat summons? He thought he recalled that from the wars, when the Uchiha clan's fire _jutsu_ had wreaked havoc on the battlefields, and the great hellcats that had their companions...but if they did, no summons were seen these days.

Itachi turned back to Genma, and gave him a questioning look.

Genma nodded. "Very good. Whenever you're ready, Leiko-_san_."

* * *

The village, nestled deep in the great woods, was a quiet place. Genma and Leiko and his Genin walked into the little cluster of thatch-roof houses without commotion. Leiko looked around the packed-dirt square, and chuckled. She glanced sidelong at her cat, grinned, and threw her head back. She let loose a spine-chilling scream-the cat sat back on its haunches and did the same. Genma couldn't help the reflexive push to put some distance between him and the two. He was unsurprised to feel the sudden nudge of someone close behind him; a glance revealed his students all three had gone into a defensive cluster right behind him. They were wide-eyed as Genma felt. He didn't blame them...there was something too primal, predator in that voice.

Thankfully, there were no answering screams...but there were the raspy "wow"s of several cats, and human voices raised in whoops. Not from within the houses, but over the edges of the roofs and around the corners they came. Most of them were young, looking lanky and adolescent, and a few had young-looking and rangy forest cats at their sides. There were not many cats, though, and Genma was a little surprised. He watched as Leiko greeted a youngster, about Iruka and Hayate's age, who was probably her son. She bent and bumped noses with him, before they rubbed cheeks-just like cats. The kid was carrying a forest-cat kit, tawny fur spotted and streaked, eyes grey. It looked around anxiously and mewed with a very pink mouth.

"Oh, kitty!" Hayate said, from near Genma's elbow, and Genma nearly laughed. "Kitty" when the cats in question were nearly twice the size of a regular housecat as kittens.

"These are our guests. They'll escort our Chuunin team to the exams and you and Jin to the Academy," Leiko told her son. His eyes widened, and he looked at Genma and his team with incredulity. Genma watched him look over them all three. To their credit, Hayate and Itachi stayed stern and maintained their posture, but after a moment Iruka stuck his tongue out.

"Beh!"

Genma reached over and bopped Iruka on the back of the head with an open palm, scowling. "_Dame yo_."

Iruka yelped and rubbed his head, giving Genma a dirty look. Genma gave him a pointed scowl and rolled the senbon in his mouth. Iruka subsided hastily, to Genma's relief. It would not make a good impression if he had to clobber his student into submission in front of the village. Konoha ninja were supposed to be professional about these things. Unfortunately, Iruka was not the sort that could maintain that front for long.

Leiko turned and smiled at them. "Come, we'll make our guests welcome."

* * *

Genma gathered up his list and nodded to the village leaders, all three of them-Leiko was one. They'd stayed a day, and now they were getting ready to leave again this afternoon. Hayate had been on cloud nine during their stay, delighted by all the cats. He had, in fact, been "adopted" by one of the older cats, so old her bones stood out and her muzzle was grey, and she had followed him around, pushing him this way and that as she pleased. Far from being alarmed, Hayate had been in a state of bliss, especially yesterday afternoon when he'd been deemed responsible enough to watch a litter of blue-eyed kittens. Iruka was less than delighted, but had remained on good behavior, following Hayate around but keeping a respectful distance from the forest cat. Itachi had attempted to maintain a stoic front, but he was jealous of Hayate's adoption by the cat, though the hurt had been soothed when Hayate had asked his help in corralling the rambunctious kits. After that, Itachi had been far more pleasant again. It was funny, Genma reflected, how easy it was becoming for him to discern the emotions and the problems of his little team.

Genma stepped out of the hut, list in hand. He'd been briefed on the team of teenagers they were taking to test for Chuunin, and the two brats destined for the Academy. These were of an age with Iruka and Hayate, trained by parents in the ninja basics. Genma doubted they would be lacking in anything except maybe the formalities of fighting stances and _jutsu_; it wasn't terribly unusual for an older student or two to come into the Academy from an outlying _ninja_ community. After all, Konoha's _ninja_ were the best.

Genma's thoughts were derailed, and he started thinking less-than-pleasant things about certain Konoha_ ninja_ when he discovered just what his students were up to.

At first he thought it was a fight-Iruka's previous history stood-but after a few strikes he realized it was, in fact, a spar. Iruka and Hayate were going two-on-one with one of the older students. His cat was lying beside Itachi, who was scratching behind tawny ears and watching the fight with bright red eyes. None of the sparring trio were bearing weapons (thanks to gods for small favors) and the action was intense. Genma walked up to stand beside Itachi, who glanced up, realized who was there, and suddenly looked rather guilty. Genma ignored him to take in the fight.

Iruka and Hayate were managing to hold their own, thought barely. They worked as a unit, well-trained, and Genma felt a touch of pride swell his heart. He didn't think the older boy was going all out on them, but he was having to work to block the both of them at once. Iruka, taller, was taking the high attacks and Hayate the low-but this was not the absolute and even as Genma watched, Iruka dropped and attempted to sweep-kick the teen's legs from under him. He jumped, and nearly jumped right into Hayate's attack, as Hayate lunged, put a hand on Iruka's shoulder, and kicked high. The teen took a glancing blow to the shoulder and flipped poor Hayate to the ground. He wasn't able to keep Hayate pinned, though, because Iruka flashed up with a wicked grin and an open-handed strike, driving in to the opening left at the teen's back.

Genma nodded in approval. "How long?" he asked Itachi.

"Huh? Oh, ah...five minutes," Itachi answered, Sharingan gaze still trained on the fight. "They won't win."

Itachi was right, Genma decided. Iruka and Hayate would not win, but they were at least able to lessen the gap in skills by working together against the older ninja. And Iruka and hayate worked together well; they always had but it had become more seamless lately. It was good, but Genma worried that they might become too accustomed to working with one another. It could kill them if they made a mistake with another partner, one who didn't know to cover them.

Rather than break it up, Genma rocked back on his heels, crossed his arms, and waited it out. Not two minutes later, the older teen threw Hayate into Iruka, knocked them both down, and pounced-just as promptly, his cat sprang through the air, leaving Itachi's hands suspended, and the two sat upon the smaller Konoha boys with an air of complete satisfaction.

Leiko, standing at Genma's elbow, laughed aloud. "Ah, your kits did well, though Taro's handicap was unfair."

A handicap-letting the cat sit out. Genma snorted. "At least they weren't too disgraceful."

"We were awesome, Genma-_sensei_!" Iruka protested, a little muffledly as he was face-down in the dirt. "Taro's as old as you are!"

Genma doubted it. He shook his head, and glanced at Leiko. She was grinning. Her son, Haru, carrying his kitten, looked a little more impressed than he first had, and Genma hoped that was a good thing.

* * *

**A/N:** Voila!

I am working on the next chapter. I've almost forgotten where this was going, but I do have notes to help me. Who knows, maybe I've improved in my writing since I started this fic!

-sensei = Teacher

-san = Mrs. or Mr, general respect

Dame yo = Stop that!

Thanks for all who reviewed: **Conversation Hearts**, **Ally Plz**, **InARealPickle**, **cdkobasiuk**, **stupid thing**, **eggomilburnigan**, **Daanamae**, **Shirayuki Tempest**, **Dark-Fate17**, **Elf Dreamer**, **Kaatzu**, **H.E. Grey**, ,** lisa**, **Kick-Aft**, **Madgod**, **new moongirl**, **Cali-Bunny**, and **Narue-Nara-chan**.

Next chapter: Birthday parties! Favors returned! Old friends seen again!

I don't know when I'll have that finished or posted, sorry guys. I'll try to make it within the month. No promises, because I'm in Nursing School now and that is my life.


	43. Ch 42: Unto Others

**A/N:** Hey guys, I'm back again! And so are some old faces in this story.

I do not own Naruto, and I do not do this for profit. This fanfic is extremely AU and will continue to be so.

* * *

**Chapter 42: Unto Others**

_June 9th_

"Hayate, _hayaku_! We'll be late!" Iruka urged, then stopped and waited impatiently as Hayate came to a halt and doubled over coughing. "Aaah, I'll get you some water!" They were right next to a bookstore, and if they didn't hurry up, then they would be late and wouldn't be able to make it to Itachi's birthday party!

They hadn't been invited, so to speak, but Itachi had brought him cake on his birthday, so he should take Itachi a present too! And visit him! Kaika had told him about the party and when it was, so Iruka had gotten Hayate to help him find a present - he could cook but he couldn't make a cake - and now they were going to deliver it. And if they were delivering the present and it just happened to be at the same time as the party...well!

Except Hayate was out of breath from running now and they'd have to go slow. Iruka was pretty sure it was alright now to go slower, they were pretty close to the Uchiha compound, but he didn't want to be late. They'd already had to make a detour after two policemen had tried to pin a pair of switched signs on Iruka. Which he hadn't done it (this time) but hadn't been able to convince them otherwise, so he and Hayate had made a run for it. The policemen hadn't chased them too far, but far enough for Hayate to have to stop. Iruka sighed to himself, and ducked into the bookstore. Faintly, it registered that the book store looked familiar, somehow, but the fact didn't take on any importance until he looked up behind the counter.

"Hey, my friend needs a drink of wate-hey! Ayame!"

Sashimoto Ayame, their former Genin team-mate, blinked. "Iruka! It's been a while! What're you doing here?"

"Hayate needs a drink of water!" Iruka announced, remembering the important things despite his surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"I work here. This is my parent's store. Where's Hayate?" Ayame asked, red curls bouncing as she slid down from her stool behind the counter. "Wow, you've gotten tall!"

"You're taller," Iruka pointed out, because it was true. "Hayate's outside and we're in a hurry but he's coughing so he needs some water so we can hurry up and not be late! Do you work here a lot? I kinda thought I recognized this place, but I guess I know why, huh? Wait, Hayate buys his silly_ samurai_ adventure books here, doesn't he? That's why I've been here before!"

"Iruka, shut UP!" Ayame shouted, looking both exasperated and annoyed. "I'll get Hayate some water, you go watch him!" She stormed off into the back room, red curls flouncing, skirt swishing. Iruka noticed suddenly that she wasn't wearing any leggings under the skirt, which came to her knees.

As he went out he wondered why he'd noticed that, because it wasn't something he usually noticed. But it'd...all of a sudden stuck out. And it wasn't like it was important or anything. Just that she was wearing a nicer skirt than usual without leggings. Iruka scowled as he pattered up to Hayate, automatically. "Hey, guess what? Ayame's here! Behind the counter! She said she'd get you some water, after she shouted at me."

"This...is her...parent's shop," Hayate managed, between pants for breath. He was bent over, hands resting on his knees, and his voice was a hoarse whisper. "Did you...forget?"

"I guess I did, 'cause I don't buy books anymore. You still read those silly _samurai_ adventures? Hayate, for shame, you should be reading about great _ninja_! Oh, hey, Ayame! We're over here! See, Hayate, here's Ayame! She brought water!"

Ayame scowled furiously at him, but delivered the cup of water to Hayate with a smile. Iruka grinned, because he could always get a rise out of Ayame, and it was funny to see her get so flouncy. "Here, Hayate. It's been a while since I've seen you. Have you guys been busy?"

Iruka thought it was rude and insensible to ask questions of Hayate when he could hardly breathe. So he answered for Hayate. "Yeah, we've been real busy! Just last week we were out of the village on a mission! We're running lots of missions now, 'specially since Itachi's getting better. We're learning all kinds of exciting stuff!"

"Oh...that sounds exciting," Ayame said, and she sounded wistful.

"Well, exciting, but an awful lot of hard work! Genma-_sensei_ won't let us slack off. It's tough!" Iruka nodded emphatically. He didn't want to make it sound so good, because Ayame looked a little unhappy and envious. "We're doing lots of work!"

"Oh. Well. I guess that's where you guys are going, huh?" Ayame glanced at both of them, and twisted one ankle around the other. Still no tights, a small part of Iruka's mind insisted, and he frowned a little.

"Well, no. But it's a team-thing. So we gotta be on time. But maybe we can come by after and hang out, huh? It's been a while since we've seen you," Iruka offered, because he wanted to cheer Ayame up. He'd liked her, after all, and she was nice to Hayate.

As he'd hoped, Ayame smiled. "I'd like that. Need more water, Hayate?"

"No, thank you." Hayate's voice was stronger now, and he wasn't breathing so hard. He passed the cup back to Ayame, who pinked as their fingers crossed in passing. "I think I can go now," he added to Iruka, softly. "so we won't be late."

"Yeah, okay. We'll be back, Ayame, but we gotta go! Thanks for the water!" Iruka declared, linking arms with Hayate. "_Jaa ne_!"

As they rounded the corner, at a fast walk, Hayate smiled up at Iruka. "That was nice of you. Thank you."

"Huh?" Iruka blinked. "Well, she was our team mate."

Hayate smiled his soft pleased secretive smile, faintly crooked, and said nothing more. Iruka had the feeling that Hayate meant something else, but with that smile, he knew he wouldn't be able to get anything else out of his curly-headed friend. Iruka gave it up, though mystified, and instead concentrated on their destination. They turned the corner and found the wall that designated the Uchiha district. Iruka cheered, resettled the box in the crook of his arm, and pulled Hayate a little faster. Hayate made a little protest but followed along and when Iruka paused, led him unerringly along the ordered streets. Hayate was excellent at things like that, though the streets looked almost all the same to Iruka.

They came to the great house that was Itachi's, and Hayate knocked at the gate before he entered-it was open. Together the strode up to the doors. Hayate rang the bell in the entryway, and they waited.

Mikoto appeared in a few moments, wearing a pretty summery kimono and looking quite curious. She smiled, however, as she saw them. Iruka liked Itachi's mother-she was a lot nicer than Fugaku. "Oh,_ kon'nichiwa_, Iruka, Hayate."

"_Kon'nichwa, _Uchiha-_san_," Hayate responded, and bowed deeply. Iruka imitated him, then popped upright and bounced on his toes. "We brought Itachi a present! Since it's his birthday!" He thrust out the wrapped box.

"I see," said Mikoto, and she looked amused. "Why don't you come inside and give it to him, please."

"_Arigatou gozaimasu_. Please excuse our rudeness." Hayate bowed again, and Iruka did too, before they stepped onto the porch and removed their sandals. Mikoto led them across the cool wooden floors, and out into the garden.

Itachi was sitting on the porch, along with Sasuke and the blonde Naruto. Shisui, older cousin, was standing beside the porch with what looked like a brand-new kite in his hands. It was a lovely painted-silk dragon, and Iruka instantly wanted to fly it. What a kite! Itachi scowled at them, puzzled, but got to his feet to greet them. Polite niceties were exchanged all around, from Itach to Shisui-isenpai/i and the pair of toddlers. Sasuke remembered to bow, dragging Naruto along with him as he scampered up to Iruka, grinning happily.

" 'Ruka! You came to give _'Nii-san_ presents?" Sasuke asked, artlessly, smiling up at Iruka. " 'Ruka, this's Naruto. Naruto, this's 'Ruka, he's _'Niisan's_ teammate."

Iruka handed the box to Hayate, and swooped down upon Sasuke to hug him. He liked the toddler immensely. "We did! 'Cuz it's his birthday! Hi, Naruto, it's nice to meet you!"

Naruto stared up at Iruka with huge blue eyes, then grinned brightly, outdoing even Sasuke's sweetness in sheer vibrancy. His yellow-hair was dandelion bright and soft, and the corners of his eyes crinkled up charmingly when he smiled. "Hi! Nice to meet you! Do you know Itachi-_niisan_ really good? He's my part-time brother, juss' like Sasuke! Are ya a _ninja_ too?"

Iruka laughed at the deluge of chatter. He liked Naruto already. Iruka looked up as Hayate bowed and offered the present to Itachi, bowing low and holding it out with both hands under the box. "Please accept this small gift."

"I thank you for your kindness." Itachi bowed, took it with both hands, though he was giving it a puzzled stare. He was clearly wondering exactly what Hayate and Iruka could have brought him, and the sudden, suspicious look darted in Iruka's direction made him laugh. It wasn't anything that would explode, or anything alive. It was, in fact, a new pair of gloves and a bag of Hayate's honey-candies, because Itachi liked them too.

And with the look on Itachi's face when he opened the box, Iruka knew they'd picked just the right presents.

* * *

**A/N:** Who remembered Ayame from so long ago? Itachi brought Iruka presents, Iruka returns the favor! Plus, chibi Naruto! Next chapter, we'll meet up with the errant Team 6 again...get ready for it!

If you guys have something you'd like to see, or have an idea for a mission-hit me with it! Contact me with it and I'll see if I can't incorporate it into the story.

Many thanks to those who reviewed last chapter: **cdkibasiuk**, **Kick-Aft**, **Narue-Nara-chan**, **Livvi18**, and **katla**!

**Hayaku **= hurry!

**Kon'nichiwa** = Good day

**Arigatou gozaimasu** = Thank you very much; formal

**'Niisan** = Older brother; formally **oniisan**


End file.
